The proposed merger of Konkan Railway with Indian Railways will depend on the approval of the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Mangaluru on Thursday. He added that discussions are under way but that no timeline could yet be given for completing the process.
Vaishnaw said the Centre and the four states are partners in Konkan Railway and that he had asked the state governments to approve the proposal to bring the railway corporation under Indian Railways. He was speaking to reporters at Mangaluru International Airport after arriving for the launch of the Bengaluru–Mangaluru Vande Bharat service.
The minister’s statement places the next formal decision on the participating state governments. The supplied report does not specify the proposed administrative structure, financial terms or the mechanism through which the merger would be implemented.
Vaishnaw also said approval had been granted for a survey and preparation of a Detailed Project Report for constructing a second railway line between Mangaluru and Bengaluru. The DPR process is under way, but no construction schedule or completion date was announced.
He described building a double line through the Western Ghats as a difficult engineering task. According to the minister, the project has been redesigned so that the problems encountered after construction of the first line do not continue when the second line is built. He said the existing alignment in the ghat section includes steep gradients and that the second line would be planned with the gradient reduced as far as possible.
The proposed Madgaon–Bengaluru Vande Bharat service was also discussed. Vaishnaw said the service would connect the coastal region with Karnataka’s capital and that the project had required changes because of the steep Western Ghats. He said modifications were made to the route during electrification and that changes were also made to the train.
The minister said the new service would connect two important centres and improve the link between the coast and Bengaluru. The report does not provide a launch date, timetable or fare details for the Madgaon–Bengaluru service.
Responding to criticism that Karnataka was being treated unfairly in the approval of railway projects, Vaishnaw rejected the allegation. He said projects worth about ₹27,000 crore were being implemented in the state and cited the approval of a bullet train project, several Vande Bharat services and a Vande Bharat sleeper train, along with station redevelopment works.
The immediate milestones are the four states’ decisions on the proposed Konkan Railway merger and the ongoing preparation of the Bengaluru–Mangaluru double-line DPR.
