Konkan Railway to ensure safe running of trains during monsoon

As many as 846 personnel will patrol 740 km of Konkan Railway route during the monsoon.

Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd said in a statement that it will conduct monsoon patrolling as per the guidelines to ensure safe running of trains. Identified vulnerable locations will be patrolled round the clock, stationary watchmen will be deployed for 24 hours, and speed restrictions will be imposed at these locations, it said.

Instructions have been issued to loco pilots to run the trains at a reduced speed of 40 kmph in case of heavy rainfall when visibility is limited. Self-propelled ARMVs (accident relief medical van), with provision of operation theatre and emergency medical aid, are kept ready at Ratnagiri and Verna, and the accident relief train is also kept ready at Verna.

Wireless communication

It said that mobile phones have been provided to all safety category staff to contact the control office/station in an emergency. Both loco pilots and guards of trains have been provided with walkie-talkie sets and every station on Konkan Railway is equipped with a 25 Watt VHF base station. This enables wireless communication between the train crew and the station master.

Emergency communication sockets have been provided at a distance of average 1 km along the Konkan Railway route that enables the patrol-men, watchmen, loco pilots, guard and other field maintenance staff to contact station master and control office during any emergency situations.

Satellite phone communication has been provided in ARMV for emergency contact. All main signal aspects on Konkan Railway are now replaced with LEDs for improving signal visibility.

Self-recording rain gauges

The self-recording rain gauges have been installed at Mangaon, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Vilwade, Kanakavali, Madgaon, Karwar, Bhatkal and Udupi stations. These rain gauges will record the rainfall in the region and alert officials in case of heavy rainfall.

Flood warning systems for bridges have been provided at three locations -- Kali river (between Mangaon and Veer), Savitri river (between Veer and Sape Wamane), and Vashishti river (between Chiplun and Kamathe). These flood warning systems will alert officials in case water flow reaches the danger level.

Anemometers have been installed at Panval viaduct (between Ratnagiri and Nivasar), Mandovi bridge (between Thivim and Karmali), Zuari bridge (between Karmali and Verna), and Sharavati bridge (between Honnavar and Manki) to monitor the wind velocity.

Control rooms will work at Belapur, Ratnagiri and Madgaon during monsoon period for ensuring safe running of trains. Monsoon time table will be in force from June 10 to October 31, the statement further said.

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