'Konkan Railway awaiting Railway Board nod for track doubling over 350 km'

A top official on Thursday said that the Konkan Railway KR is planning track doubling on certain patches along the 741km corridor that passes through difficult and rugged terrain and is waiting for the green signal from the Railway Board reported news agency PTIKonkan Railway chief managing director Santosh Kumar Jha said track doubling will help them run more trainsAccording to PTI report Santosh Kumar Jha told reporters that a proposal for patch doubling over 350 km between KankavaliSawantwadi and MadgaonThokur stations was sent to the board about a year ago and they were waiting for its approvalFull doubling at a time is not possible We are hopeful to get sanctions for patch doubling Then we can do patchwise doubling Jha said replying to a question about increasing the carrying capacity of Konkan Railway reported PTIEvery day the Konkan Railway operates 52 passenger trains and 18 goods trains on the line that runs through Maharashtra Goa Karnataka and a small stretch in KeralaIt has a double line of about 50 km between Roha and Veer stations There is a constraint in running more services on single lines as trains need to be taken to siding passing opposite or same directional trainsJha said doubling of tracks costs Rs 15 to 20 crore on flat stretches but it rises to Rs 80 to 100 crore in hilly terrain reported PTIIn the hilly terrain especially between Veer and Kankavali stations the cost of doubling is very high But in the plain terrain after it certainly doubling can be done Jha said The line on this section passes through hilly areas with multiple tunnels bridges and gorges reported PTIBarring a few locations there will be no need for fresh land acquisition as adequate land was acquired when Konkan Railway was established a few decades agoRunning services becomes more challenging during rains due to the possibility of boulder falls landslides and track washouts For safety reasons Konkan Railway curtails the speed of its trains between June 10 and October 31 every year but it reduces the number of services he said reported PTIJha informed that in FY 202223 KR crossed the turnover mark of Rs 5000 crore for the first time and earned a net profit of Rs 279 crore In the last financial year FY24 KRs profit after tax was Rs 301 croreThe Konkan Railway is on development path We are trying to enhance passenger amenities carry more and more freight and launch more projects he said reported PTIJha said in the last 10 years they have spent Rs 1045 crore on passenger amenities like station platforms foot over bridges and others reported PTIThe KR route has 68 stations and four halts and they have provided essential amenities at all of them he saidThis year too we are spending about Rs 55 crore on passenger amenities he stated reported PTITo a question about overcrowding on Konkanbound trains during the annual Ganpati festival Jha said the Railway will try to increase the number of special trains this year to deal with the rush reported PTIWith inputs from PTI