Archive · 11 Aug 2026
South Coast Railway commissions new loop line, signalling at Gullipadu
Trains need special tracks and signals to move safely.
A railway in India recently upgraded a train station called Gullipadu.
They added a new track, called a loop line, so more trains can pass through.
They also replaced an old signal system with a new computer-based one.
The new system is safer and easier to fix if something goes wrong.
A machine-operated barrier now guards the road crossing, so cars and trains stay safe.
The work was done while trains were still running, and only four trains were delayed.
The upgrade lets trains travel faster and helps more trains move smoothly through the area.
Railway workers prepared for five days, and the final change took less than two hours.
South Coast Railway's Vijayawada Division commissioned an additional loop line and a modern signalling system at Gullipadu station on the Vijayawada-Duvvada section.
A Medha MEI634 Electronic Interlocking System replaced the decades-old manual signalling panel — the first such installation on South Coast Railway.
The project added a 955-metre loop line, extended the existing loop by 340 metres to 1,026 metres, installed three new track switches, shifted two and removed one.
An automatic electrically operated lifting barrier replaced the manually operated lock boom at the level crossing, with an Emergency Sliding Boom added.
The commissioning traffic block ran from 1.05 pm to 2.45 pm on August 8, was completed within the six-hour target window, and affected only four trains.
- Who
- South Coast Railway's Vijayawada Division, led by Divisional Railway Manager Mohit Sonakiya
- What
- Commissioned an additional loop line and a modern Electronic Interlocking System with an automatic lifting barrier at Gullipadu station
- When
- During a traffic block from 1.05 pm to 2.45 pm on August 8, after five days of preparatory work
- Where
- Gullipadu (GLU) station on the Vijayawada-Duvvada section of South Coast Railway, India
- Why
- To strengthen infrastructure, improve reliability, safety and ease of maintenance, and increase operational capacity by removing yard constraints that had restricted Down line train speeds to 80 kmph
- Project location
- Gullipadu (GLU) station, Vijayawada-Duvvada section
- Railway zone / division
- South Coast Railway; Vijayawada Division
- New signalling system
- Electronic Interlocking System (Medha MEI634), first on South Coast Railway
- Loop line work
- 955 metres added; existing loop extended by 340 metres to 1,026 metres
- Track switches
- 3 installed, 2 shifted, 1 removed
- Level crossing upgrade
- Automatic electrically operated lifting barrier and Emergency Sliding Boom
- Commissioning window
- Traffic block 1.05 pm–2.45 pm on August 8; completed within six-hour target
- Trains affected
- 4
