MONSOON TRAIN JOURNEY THROUGH BEAUTIFUL KONKAN RAILWAY

BEST OF MONSOON TRAIN JOURNEY THROUGH BEAUTIFUL KONKAN RAILWAYS : INDIAN RAILWAYS.

The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is a railway operated by the Konkan Railway Corporation, with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and Mangalore. During its initial years of operation in the mountainous Konkan region, a number of accidents prompted Konkan Railway to implement new technology. Anti-collision devices, the Sky Bus and roll-on/roll-off (RORO) are several of the railway's innovations. The 741-km (461-mi) line connects the states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The first train on the completed track was sent off on 26 January 1998.
The first phase of the Konkan Railway was the 62-kilometre (39 mi) section from Apta to Roha. It was cleared by the Planning Commission, and the project was included in the 1978-79 budget at an estimated cost of ₹11.19 billion. The length of the railway from Apta to Mangalore was estimated at 890 kilometres (550 mi), and its cost was estimated at ₹2.39 billion in 1976. The engineering and traffic survey for the West Coast Railway Line from Apta to Mangalore was conducted from 1970 to 1972. The final survey for the Apta-Roha-Dasgaon section was made in 1974–75.
The 738.941-kilometre (459.157 mi) railway has a total track length of 918.515 kilometres (570.739 mi). Its length through Maharashtra is 381.181 kilometres (236.855 mi), through Karnataka 251.76 kilometres (156.44 mi), and 106 kilometres (66 mi) through Goa.
Work progressed on the line. In March 1993, the southern 47-kilometre (29 mi) between Thokur and Udupi in Karnataka was placed into service, followed by the northern 47-kilometre (29 mi) section between Roha and Veer in Maharashtra in June of that year. The first passenger train on the route ran between Mangalore and Udupi on 20 March 1993. The service was extended by 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Veer to Khed in March 1995, and by a further 265 kilometres (165 mi) from Khed to Sawantwadi Road in December 1996. Southern service was extended by 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Udupi to Kundapur in January 1995, and by a further 275 kilometres (171 mi) to Pernem in Goa in August 1997. Through service between Mumbai and Mangalore remained on hold due to a problematic tunnel at Pernem, which experienced repeated cave-ins and flooding. The tunnel was finally completed in January 1998, six years after its construction began. Through services on the line began after the inauguration of the full 740-kilometre (460 mi) stretch from Roha to Mangalore on 26 January 1998. Passenger service on the full route, between Mumbai and Mangalore, began in May 1998.
The route was popular with passengers due to its connectivity with regions hitherto inaccessible by rail and the substantial time savings for travellers between western and southern India. Several trains which had taken circuitous routes ran on the Konkan Railway, reducing running time. The first of these was the Mumbai-Mangalore Netravati Express (later extended to Trivandrum), which was diverted to the Konkan Railway on 1 March 1998; this was followed by the Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express on 1 April of that year. The Matsyagandha Express, running from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus to Mangalore, began service on 1 May 1998. The Hazrat Nizamuddin-Mangalore Mangala Lakshadweep Express was diverted to the route and extended to Ernakulam Junction on 1 August 1998. The Pune-Ernakulam Junction Express was introduced on 25 February 1999. The Marusagar Express, which runs between Jaipur and Ernakulam Junction and was extended to Ajmer via the Konkan Railway, began service on 12 October 2001. The Jan Shatabdi Express was flagged off between Mumbai and Madgaon (the longest-running Jan Shatabdi) on 16 April 2002 to commemorate Indian Railways' 150th anniversary. On 1 February 2008, a Garib Rath Express between the Kochuveli railway station in Thiruvananthapuram and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus began service.
The Tejas Express is the first semi-high-speed, fully air-conditioned train fleet introduced by Indian Railways, with modern on-board facilities. Its inaugural run was on 24 May 2017 from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Karmali railway station in Goa. It covered 552 km (342 mi) in eight hours and 30 minutes.
Freight response to the railway was lukewarm, prompting its corporation to consider reducing its rates. With an outstanding debt of ₹33.75 billion, the KRCL was counting on freight traffic for revenue.
The corporation introduced roll-on/roll-off (RORO) service, a road-rail system, on the section between Kolad (Maharashtra) and Verna, Goa in 1999; it was extended to the Surathkal railway station in Karnataka in 2004. The RORO service, the first of its kind in India, allowed trucks to be transported on flatcars. It has been popular, carrying about 1.6 million trucks and earning over ₹1.2 billion by 2009.