Konkan Railway to get fully electrified by December

The Konkan Railway has about 91 tunnels and 1,880 bridges

Railway Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Indian Railways, Suneet Sharma, told mid-day on Wednesday, that one of India's biggest stretches of railway electrification, was happening on the Konkan Railway. He also said that this will help start electric passenger train operations entirely from December 2021. The conversion of this stretch will cut down the diesel consumption of the railways significantly.

"The Konkan Railway is one of the biggest stretches in a single railway to get electrified. We are doing it in two phases. One starting from Roha downwards south, and another at the Karmali end in Goa. As of now, we have electrified about 370 km of the total 750km stretch. We have also begun operations of goods trains along it. In the pending portion about 85 pc to 90 pc work has already been completed.

There were some problems running passenger trains, but we are ready and will soon be able to run electric passenger trains. The balance portion will be completed by year-end. We will be able to run end-to-end electric trains by December 2021," Sharma told mid-day in an online video interview.

Also Read: Konkan Railway gets ready for new power corridor

This will be one of the longest stretches of an independent railway network in the country to go electric, and will ensure seamless travel for electric locomotives. The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) manages the railway line between Roha in Maharashtra and Thokur in Karnataka. Sources said that the challenges of electrifying the Konkan Railway network, at a cost of R1,100 crore, were particularly difficult due to its extremely difficult terrain with special arrangements at many locations to keep it going in monsoon. It has about 91 tunnels and 1,880 bridges with the longest tunnel of 6.5 km at Karbude near Ratnagiri, and tallest 64-metre bridge over Panval river at Ratnagiri.

Electrification of railway lines will reduce the cost of energy as well as local pollution, and do away with diesel locomotives. It will save cost of fuel and make operations easier, leading to savings of R150 crore per year. Sharma said in 2020-21 (till March 31) railway electrification works were commissioned on 6,015 route km compared to 4,378 route km during 2019-20 the highest ever commissioning during a year.

Land acquisition issues in state delay bullet train project

Speaking on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, Sharma told mediapersons that there were land acquisition issues in Maharashtra in procuring stretches of required land in Palghar and parts of Thane district, but they were in talks with the Maharashtra government and confident of an amicable solution. India's first bullet train, being built with the partnership of India and Japan by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), will traverse the 508-km distance between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in 2 hours and 57 minutes covering 12 stations, including the originating and final station.

Rs 1,100 cr
Cost of the electrification of Konkan Railway