The scenic Konkan Railways is expected to get its first Vande Bharat in June as the semi-high speed train between Mumbai and Goa is all set for its launch, officials aware of the matter told News18.
The trial for the train between Madgaon in Goa and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) in Mumbai has been underway since the last few days. The train is likely to transform the journey between India’s financial capital, Mumbai, and the tourism hub, Goa.
A couple of trains are already connecting Mumbai and Goa but this train will be the fastest to cover the journey in just around seven hours, the Konkan Railway official told News18 on condition of anonymity. So far, the travel time between the two stations is about eight to nine hours minimum.
The official, however, refused to speak on the details about the expected inauguration date and the proposed route, saying “these details are yet to be finalised”.
The Beauty Called ‘Konkan Railway’
The Konkan Railways is considered to be one of the most scenic train journeys that connect Mumbai and Mangalore as it passes through Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.
It is a coastal strip of land bound by the Sahyadri Hills on the east and Arabian Sea on the west. The first train was flagged off on January 26, 1998 on the Konkan route. This year, it completed 25 years of service.
The total length of the Konkan Railways is around 750 km that also includes the Goa-Mumbai route. With 72 stations en route, the journey takes the train through rivers, valleys and mountains.
In the entire stretch, there are 91 tunnels covering a distance of 85 km. The longest tunnel in the route is the 6.5 km long Karbude Tunnel near Ratnagiri.
Further, the route also has 342 curves and 1,880 bridges, including 179 major bridges and 1,701 minor bridges. There are 372 road crossings as well.
About Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat
The Vande Bharat fully AC train will be the fastest in the Mumbai-Goa route. “The nearly 600-km journey between Mumbai and Madgaon has a number of scenic locations. Vande Bharat will be a fully AC train that will be in addition to the existing trains. It will enhance the travel experience of the passengers as it crosses the lush Western Ghats and the scenic Konkan region,” the official quoted above said.
They also said the route is single line and is a challenging one. A Vande Bharat on this route had been a long pending demand. Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve had said in March that the semi-high speed express train will soon be operated on the Mumbai-Goa route.
“This will be the first Vande Bharat for the Konkan Railway. Successful trials on these routes are a milestone for us. Goa is a tourist spot and has a rush almost always. The train has been a long pending demand and will help in easing the passenger load in this route,” they said.
Fourth Vande Bharat for Mumbai
So far, three Vande Bharat trains are operating from Mumbai –- one each for Gandhinagar, Shirdi and Solapur. This will be the fourth train from India’s financial capital.
India currently has 18 pairs of Vande Bharat trains with the latest one being Guwahati to New Jalpaiguri, which was launched on Monday. Earlier this month, Odisha got its first Vande Bharat operational between Puri and Howrah.
Apart from three from Mumbai, at least six pairs of Vande Bharat trains are operational from Delhi. The national capital is connected with these semi-high-speed trains with Dehradun, Ajmer, Varanasi, Katra, Bhopal, and Amb Andaura.
Two pairs of Vande Bharats are operating from Chennai for Mysuru and Coimbatore. Vande Bharat is also operational on the Bilaspur-Nagpur, Howrah-New Jalpaiguri, Secunderabad-Tirupati, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod routes.
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