Konkan Railways



FACTS & FIGURES
Route Length : 760 kms
Bridges : 1,798 (major - 168; minor - 1,630)
Best Time to Visit : September to April
Tunnels : 88 (longest 6.5 km)

Located as a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore, the Konkan Coast is bounded by the Sahyadri hills on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. Over the years, the charm of natural beauty of the Konkan lands has been drawing the interests of numerous tourists all over the world. Travel to Konkan is one of the most important factors among the interested tourists to start off your journey.

On your tour to India, if you are looking to visit the Konkan Coast or Karavalli, you require to know how to reach Konkan. Your travel schedule to Konkan will be trouble free and designed in keeping with your personal requisites because the alternatives of travel to Konkan are of diverse categories. This easy accessibility of different types of transportation options makes the modus operandi of reaching Konkan simple.

In the view to establish direct rail connections between the cities of Mumbai and Mangalore, the Konkan Railway went underway as a company of the Indian Railways operating along the Konkan coast of India. This non availability of railway connections between these cities was basically due to the undulating topography. The Southern Railway, which was assigned with the final location survey, submitted the project report for this course named the Konkan Railway, to the Railway Ministry in 1988.

As the first step of the project, the section from Mangalore to Udupi, a distance of 69 km, was incorporated in the railway budget of 1989 - 90. The rest of the project stretching from Udupi to Roha, a distance of 768 km, was incorporated in the 1990-91 railway budget. The Konkan Railway happens to be a broad-gauge single line, linking the route from Roha to Mangalore (760 km), offering 53 stations on the line; the important ones being Karwar, Ankola, Honnavar, Gokarna Road, Bhatkal, Kumta, Kundapur, and Udupi. Konkan Railway does not have sectors like the other Indian Railways; but it has two regions with headquarters at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and Karwar in Karnataka. The Ratnagiri region stretches from Roha to Sawantwadi, while the Karwar region stretches from Pernem to Thokur. Surathkal is considered to be the southernmost railway station on Konkan railway as trains do not officially stop over at Thokur.

Key super fast trains like Delhi-Trivandrum Rajdhani Express have been redirected to the Konkan Railway. Also, a service of the Shatabdi Express has been also commenced between Mumbai and Madagaon.

Log on to www.touristplacesinindia.com which gives online information about Konkan and booking for India Konkan tours on your tour to India.