Team Herald
MARGAO: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation – 100% Electrification of the Konkan Railway route via video conference on Monday from Bengaluru and flagged off electric loco trains from Margao, Ratnagiri and Udupi under the ‘Mission 100% Electrification – Moving towards net Zero Carbon Emission’.
Union Minister of State for Shipping Shripad Naik, Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar, Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) Sanjay Gupta, PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat; Navelim MLA Ulhas Tuenkar and Margao Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson Lyndon Monteiro were the guests for the function that was held at the KRCL Station in Margao.
The total cost of the electrification project was Rs 1,287 crore. Railway electrification of Konkan Railway has been completed in 5 phases i.e Thokur-Bijoor, Bijoor-Karwar, Karwar-Thivim, Thivim-Ratnagiri and Ratnagiri-Roha, the last section being Ratnagiri – Thivim which was commissioned on March 28, 2022. All loco pilots have been trained in a phased manner for running electric traction locos.
Speaking to media persons, Union MoS Shripad Naik and former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat praised the project for cutting down on the need for diesel consumption and listed various other benefits.
Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral said the electrification of the Konkan Railway route is expected to cut fuel expenditure costs to the tune of more than Rs 150 crore per annum and that the switch to electricity will also cut down on pollution caused by diesel trains. He went on to add that the country’s foreign reserves will also be preserved with the reduction of diesel dependency and that the States in which the railway route has been electrified will be benefited greatly. He added the public will be benefitted too.
KRCL officials pointed out that their railway route passes through the dense forest cover of Sahyadri hills along the Western Coastal Strip, which is endowed with rich natural beauty and against that backdrop, they stated that the electrification of this route will be a major step in conserving its rich natural heritage, flora & fauna of the region and also help in its economic development.
“Since the alignment passes through geographically difficult terrain, there are a number of major bridges, deep cuttings and long tunnels on the route of KR. There are 91 tunnels on the route and the total length of the route in the tunnelled section is 84.496 km (about 11% of the total route length). The forced ventilation system has been provided in seven major long tunnels,” said KR officials.
