Years back Britishers wanted to have a rail link through the western corridor of India connecting Mumbai with Mangalore. But they were compelled to drop the idea due to the difficulty in the construction of the line as it had to pass through hilly terrain and partly through forest area. The geological and geographical consideration also came on the way.
When Mr George Fernadez was the railway minister, he wanted to revive the proposal dropped by the Britishers . He then appointed Mr E Sreedharan an eminent engineer of Indian railways as the in-charge for the construction of the railway.
The work was started in 1990 and completed in a record time of six years. The first passenger train was flagged off on January 26,1998 by late Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India. Subsequently the electrification of the line was completed in 2022. Then the Prime Minister of India Sri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the electrification of the entire route on 20 June 2022.
Water fall
The total length of the stretch is 756.25 kms. It passes through Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra states. It starts from Roha in Maharashtra and ends at Thokur in Karnataka. There are 179 major bridges,1819 minor bridges and 91 tunnels on the line. The longest tunnel (Karbude) is 6.5 kms long and is situated between Ukshi and Bhoke stations. There are 56 stations on the way. The main stations are Udipi, Ratnagiri, Madgaon and Panvel.
The Konkan rail passes through picturesque valleys with lush greenery along the side of Arabian sea. The other side of the railway track is thick forest cover on Sahyadri hills.
For the first time in India, RORO (Roll on - Roll off) service was introduced on Konkan railway. In this service, trucks are first loaded in wagons and carried to the destination and then unloaded at the required station. This helps in saving fuel, wear of truck wheels, tedious driving on the difficult hilly terrains leading to tiredness of the drivers and a faster service.
scenery on the route
There are two time tables for trains on konkan railway – monsoon season and other season
Mookambika temple
The famous Mookambika temple is near to Udipi railway station. There are many tourist spots in Goa.
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