Vivek Mukherji
The Konkan Railway Corporation announced that it had completed the electrification of its entire 741-kilometre route between Roha in Maharashtra and Thokur in Karnataka.
Confirming the development senior officials said, “Konkan Railway being one of the biggest railway routes on the Indian Railway network, the train operations with electric traction will be implemented on the newly electrified Konkan Railway route in a phased manner.”
The Konkan Railway has about 91 tunnels and 1,880 bridges, including the longest 6.5 km tunnel at Karbude near Ratnagiri and the longest 64 m bridge over the Panvel River at Ratnagiri.
In November 2015, the first stone was laid for the electrification of the entire 741 km route of the Konkan railway. The total cost of the project is ₹1,287 crore. The CRS inspection of the entire Konkan Railway from March 2020 was successfully completed in six stages.
100% electrification of Konkan Railway completed today.#RailElectrification pic.twitter.com/VT1lbMLBi8
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 29, 2022
The last CRS inspection of the section between Ratnagiri and Thivim was carried out on March 24, 2022, and clearance was received on March 28, 2022,” a senior Konkan Railway official said.
Currently, an average of 16 pairs of express mail trains and 10 pairs of freight trains run daily on the Konkan route.
Prime Minister congratulated the railways on Twitter, “Congratulations to the entire Konkan Railway Team for the remarkable success of ‘Mission 100 per cent Electrification’ and setting new benchmarks of sustainable development.”
Electrification of railways will reduce energy costs and local pollution and eliminate diesel locomotives. This will reduce energy costs and make work easier, saving ₹150 crore per year.
The electrification project has been difficult due to the difficult terrain of the Konkan Railway and the unfavourable environment due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, due to heavy rains in the Konkan region, special arrangements had to be made in many places so that the electrification mission could continue uninterrupted.
