Konkan Railway plans to launch the track-doubling work on the Roha-Veer section after the tendering process is completed in the next few months. The 49-km section will be doubled at an estimated cost of ₹295 crore.

Sanjay Gupta, Interim CMD and Director of Operations, KRCL, told a media conference in Navi Mumbai on Friday that track doubling would begin from the Roha end of KRCL as the work between Panvel and Roha is likely to be completed by Central Railway soon. Commencement from the Roha-end would ensure continuity, he added.

According to Gupta, track doubling seeks to enhance capacity by 2.5 times and improve average speed besides enabling KRCL to handle freight traffic from port connectivity.

Electrification Electrification is also likely to commence in the next few months for KRCL from the Thokur-end as electrification works from the Southern Railway end has already reached Mangaluru, Gupta said and added that this would ensure continuity of traction and help in avoiding loco changes from electric to diesel and vice versa.

Electrification from the northern end will begin after Central Railway completes the Panvel-Roha electrification, he said.

The target time for electrification has been pegged at 36 months for the whole of Konkan Railway’s route length of 739 km and will cost ₹709 crore.

26% rise in earnings Meanwhile, KRCL saw 26 per cent increase in earnings for the nine months ended December 2015 to ₹1,038 crore. Of this, earnings from passenger services grew five per cent to ₹397 crore, freight earnings rose 25 per cent to ₹304 crore while income from projects grew 68 per cent yoy at ₹337 crore.

Passenger traffic went up 11 per cent to 50 trains per day on an average while freight traffic rose seven per cent to average 17 trains each day.

Related Topics