The Centre has said that Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) has taken up the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) for doubling identified sections of around 263 km to increase route’s capacity.
Replying to a question by the Member of Parliament from Udupi-Chikmagaluru, Kota Srinivasa Poojary in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said doubling of around 55-km stretch has already been completed.
Konkan Railway has a total route km of 739 km from Roha in Maharashtra to Thokur in Mangaluru of Karnataka, which passes through difficult terrain of Western Ghats. To increase the capacity of the balance 685 km route, doubling is required. This requires substantial investment with the contribution from all the shareholding State governments, the Minister said.
Established in 1990, KRCL has five shareholders. They are: Ministry of Railways (66.35 per cent shareholding), and the state governments of Maharashtra (15.11 per cent), Goa (4.12 per cent), Karnataka (10.30 per cent) and Kerala (4.12 per cent).
The Minister said the approval of any railway project depends upon many parameters / factors such as the anticipated traffic projections and remunerativeness of the proposed route; first and last mile connectivity provided by the project; augmentation of congested / saturated lines; Railway’s operational requirements; and overall availability of funds.