The Konkan Railway
konkan railway connects Mumbai and Mangalore , passing through Western Ghats ,it started in 1998 ,has a length of 771.2Km it connects Maharashtra , Goa and Karnataka. konkan railway line construction cost was around 11.19 Billion in Making happen , konkan railway has about 2116 bridges and 92 tunnels. with 69 stations owned by Ministry of Railways
The project of this magnitude need a lot of information before getting started and in the early 1970s surveys were done for the best possible route.
The project was challenging , having railway tracks passing through hills , rivers and valleys , was planned in a way to avoid steep turns.
When an alignment needs to be worked out, you require several jeeps, and lots of people running around. Mr. Rajaram, who was then the Chief Engineer at Goa and later went on to become the Managing Director of KRCL, took satellite images, made topographical maps with high accuracy.
After the path was finalized it was a difficult task to acquire the land from the locals ,who had it from generations 42,000 landowners were called upon and land at a cost of Rs. 144.88 crore was negotiated Village-level meetings were conducted, to make land owners aware of the importance of the national project, and many were so convinced that they gave consent letters much before they received the compensation, so that work could start immediately.
Challenges faced during the project:
The western ghats is known for its steep slopes , deep valleys and rocky terrains which created a major challenge for setting up konkan railway and the zone is prone to landslides.
The konkan region experiences heavy rainfall during the monsoon season and it makes the it prone to flooding , landslides and rust due to water and because of this it needs constant maintenance and evaluation.
The western Ghats is known for its biodiversity and has wide species of flora and fauna, it is obvious that konkan railway might create a disturbance.
Construction Marvels
Panval Viaduct: It passes over the panval river valley. It is the tallest bridge in the Konkan Railway Project.
Sharavathi Bridge: It about 2 Km long and crosses the Sharavathi River and was constructed in 1994.
Pernem tunnel : it is carved through hard rock , using conventional drilling and blasting methods. it’s about 1.5 Km in length.
Time saved by konkan railway.
- Mumbai to Goa was 20 hours, After Konkan Railway it was 10 hours. saving 10 hours.
- Mumbai to Cochin was 36 hours , After Konkan railway 26 Hours saving 12 hours.
- Mangaluru to Delhi was 3033 Hours , After konkan railway it was 2249 hours. saving 784 hours.
- Mangaluru to Ahmedabad was 2653 hours, After konkan railway it was 1358 hours , Saving 1295.
- Mumbai to Mangalore was about 41 hours which is reduce to 15 hours saving 26 hours.