Bhubaneswar, Jan. 16: Commissioner of railway safety Sudarshan Nayak today inspected the work on doubling up of the railway line between Delang and Sakhigopal.

It will pave the way for commissioning of the 13.3-km stretch by the first week of next month.

The inspection started around 9am and continued till late afternoon. Railway sources said the commissioner would submit his report to the railway board for subsequent action.

The commissioner's report is vital for the induction of new engines, coaches, tracks or enhancement of speed of a particular train in a sector.

Interestingly, to make the commissioner's inspection neutral and unbiased his post is not under the railway ministry, but the ministry of civil aviation.

The work between Sakhigopal and Puri (15.4km) is on in full swing and nearly 70 per cent of work is already over. It will be completed by the end of March or first week of April. Out of the 50.7-km stretch between Khurda junction and Puri, only 22km up to Delang is having double railway track. Train services are getting affected due to the single track during peak traffic hours.

Puri is gearing up for the preparations of Nabakalebar and it is estimated that around 50 lakh pilgrims are likely to visit Puri.

The railways had sanctioned the project of Rs 165.16 crore for the 28.7km stretch way back in 2010-11. It was conceived in two segments - Delang-Sakhigopal and Sakhigopal-Puri.

'The railways has sufficient outlay in the current budget so that no stone is left unturned to complete the project,' said ECoR chief public relations officer J.P. Mishra.