I wish to throw more light on some of the projects which I believe our
country really needs. I would concentrate more on the South as I feel that it
is here where the railway network is underdeveloped. Moreover, I am not all
that legitimate to comment on the requirements in the Northern parts of India
as I have never lived there and do not have a first hand experience of the
difficulties or the problems faced by the people there due to lack of rail
connectivity.
South is the region where the seas and thereby the port cities come into picture and therefore the railways cannot really ignore this region. Also compared to all other regions, it is the Southern region that houses the maximum number of metros like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi (Ernakulam) compared to Mumbai and Ahmedabad in the West. Delhi and Kolkata are the only 2 metros that one can think of in the North and East, respectively. Hence the railways cannot really afford to ignore the Southern region of the country. A lot needs to be done in this region to meet the requirements for the present as well as the future ; no railway lines can be taken up to meet the selfish requirements of a few vested interests of a particular region. The credibility and feasibility of the projects need to be examined and it is what I have attempted here, within the framework of my knowledge.
Some of the projects that are really crucial to the South are :
1.) Chennai-Pondicherry-Rameswaram railway line
The railway line connecting the Eastern coast of India, begins at Chennai and extends all the way to Kolkata, via Vishakapatnam, an important coastal city in Andhra Pradesh. However, the region below Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, is largely deprived of rail connectivity. Though Pondicherry has a railway station, it is not directly connected to Chennai, because of which an important nuclear plant at Kalpakkam or the important place of tourist importance, Mahabalipuram, are inaccessible through rail. The other important fishing towns in Tamil Nadu like Cuddalore and Nagapattinam to the South of Pondicherry, too lack a direct rail connectivity to Chennai through the East Coast Road (ECR). A double railway line from Chennai to Rameswaram, covering all the towns like Pondicherry, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Tirchendur, etc needs to be commissioned so that the entire coast of Tamil Nadu is connected by rail to the rest of the country.
2.) Rameswaram-Kanyakumari railway line
Rail connectivity needs to be provided along the coast between the 2 important towns of religious importance in Tamil Nadu. Presently, the trains plying between these towns head to the Madurai to the North of Kanyakumari and then take a turn towards the South, to reach Rameswaram.
3.) Doubling or Tripling of Konkan railway line
The line which runs through an extremely tough terrain in the Western Ghats along the Konkan coast of India, is indeed an engineering marvel. It connects Mumbai to Mangalore through the coastal parts of both Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides Goa. This line needs to be doubled or tripled on a priority as it forms a major link connecting all the coastal regions in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Nagercoil- Kanyakumari). The Roll-on Roll-off (RORO) services offered in Maharashtra, where-in the heavy trucks which cannot negotiate through the steep curves in the erstwhile NH 17, in the regions of Kudal and Satara, are loaded onto the rakes and transported to the South, could be further enhanced so as to provide a quick and seamless connectivity between regions in the West coast.
4.) Doubling of Bangalore- Mangalore railway line
The line that runs through as many as 57 tunnels in the Western Ghats to connect the coastal city of Karnataka to its state capital, needs to be doubled. Presently, the railways operates between 8-10 goods trains and 1 or 2 passenger trains along this route. For technical reasons, more passenger trains cannot be run as it may result in derailment. For the same reason, the number of carriages to the trains is also restricted. Hence a double line along this route would provide connectivity from Mangalore to other important towns in the East like Chennai, Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam, Bhubaneshwar etc via Bangalore.
5.) Shimoga-Talaguppa-Honnavar railway line
This links the main land of Karnataka to its coastal region but is stuck due to lack of environmental clearance much similar to the Hubli- Ankola railway line. The line provides direct connectivity to Karwar, an important port city besides an alternative (perhaps shorter) route to Goa ; Mumbai and the Konkan region as a whole, comes closer to the Malnad region of Karnataka. More trains could be run on the ever busy, Bangalore-Mumbai route covering several backward regions. This line is believed to cause serious damage to the forest regions of Malnad ; an alternative route from Talaguppa to Kumta via Siddapur and Sirsi is not being considered as it does little good for the railways unlike the route to Honnavar (which is just 20 Kms South of Kumta). The route to Honnavar is important as it provides the much needed connectivity to the Gerusoppa dam downstream Jog Falls, where hydroelectricity is generated. The Hubli-Ankola railway line which has time and again failed to receive the environmental clearance, could scrapped once for all, if this project were to materialize.
6.) Bangalore-Pune railway line doubling
This railway line that runs through Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka and Miraj & Karad in Maharashtra is a crucial line connecting between Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune to the South. The line is already saturated and is operating beyond its capacity ; it would be no surprise if an expert were to suggest its quadrupling in future. Hence the line needs to be strengthened.
7.) Bidar-Gulbarga railway line
At the first look it might seem ridiculous to mention this is a project important for the country as it is intended to connect 2 of the virtually unknown destinations in Karnataka. However, some of the vital facts associated with this project needs to be considered before making an opinion. When operational, this line can bring down the commuting time between Delhi and the South by nearly 7 hours. Presently all trains are being diverted to Hyderabad due to the absence of this vital link. Also this line passes through all the mineral rich areas of the Karnataka, besides the country's largest cement factory (Wadi in Karnataka).
All the statements I have made above are on the basis of my personal opinion and knowledge, which could be shallow or improper. There could be certain facts to which I have not been adequately exposed. In such an event, the above post may not be all that correct.
South is the region where the seas and thereby the port cities come into picture and therefore the railways cannot really ignore this region. Also compared to all other regions, it is the Southern region that houses the maximum number of metros like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi (Ernakulam) compared to Mumbai and Ahmedabad in the West. Delhi and Kolkata are the only 2 metros that one can think of in the North and East, respectively. Hence the railways cannot really afford to ignore the Southern region of the country. A lot needs to be done in this region to meet the requirements for the present as well as the future ; no railway lines can be taken up to meet the selfish requirements of a few vested interests of a particular region. The credibility and feasibility of the projects need to be examined and it is what I have attempted here, within the framework of my knowledge.
Some of the projects that are really crucial to the South are :
1.) Chennai-Pondicherry-Rameswaram railway line
The railway line connecting the Eastern coast of India, begins at Chennai and extends all the way to Kolkata, via Vishakapatnam, an important coastal city in Andhra Pradesh. However, the region below Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, is largely deprived of rail connectivity. Though Pondicherry has a railway station, it is not directly connected to Chennai, because of which an important nuclear plant at Kalpakkam or the important place of tourist importance, Mahabalipuram, are inaccessible through rail. The other important fishing towns in Tamil Nadu like Cuddalore and Nagapattinam to the South of Pondicherry, too lack a direct rail connectivity to Chennai through the East Coast Road (ECR). A double railway line from Chennai to Rameswaram, covering all the towns like Pondicherry, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Tirchendur, etc needs to be commissioned so that the entire coast of Tamil Nadu is connected by rail to the rest of the country.
2.) Rameswaram-Kanyakumari railway line
Rail connectivity needs to be provided along the coast between the 2 important towns of religious importance in Tamil Nadu. Presently, the trains plying between these towns head to the Madurai to the North of Kanyakumari and then take a turn towards the South, to reach Rameswaram.
3.) Doubling or Tripling of Konkan railway line
The line which runs through an extremely tough terrain in the Western Ghats along the Konkan coast of India, is indeed an engineering marvel. It connects Mumbai to Mangalore through the coastal parts of both Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides Goa. This line needs to be doubled or tripled on a priority as it forms a major link connecting all the coastal regions in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Nagercoil- Kanyakumari). The Roll-on Roll-off (RORO) services offered in Maharashtra, where-in the heavy trucks which cannot negotiate through the steep curves in the erstwhile NH 17, in the regions of Kudal and Satara, are loaded onto the rakes and transported to the South, could be further enhanced so as to provide a quick and seamless connectivity between regions in the West coast.
4.) Doubling of Bangalore- Mangalore railway line
The line that runs through as many as 57 tunnels in the Western Ghats to connect the coastal city of Karnataka to its state capital, needs to be doubled. Presently, the railways operates between 8-10 goods trains and 1 or 2 passenger trains along this route. For technical reasons, more passenger trains cannot be run as it may result in derailment. For the same reason, the number of carriages to the trains is also restricted. Hence a double line along this route would provide connectivity from Mangalore to other important towns in the East like Chennai, Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam, Bhubaneshwar etc via Bangalore.
5.) Shimoga-Talaguppa-Honnavar railway line
This links the main land of Karnataka to its coastal region but is stuck due to lack of environmental clearance much similar to the Hubli- Ankola railway line. The line provides direct connectivity to Karwar, an important port city besides an alternative (perhaps shorter) route to Goa ; Mumbai and the Konkan region as a whole, comes closer to the Malnad region of Karnataka. More trains could be run on the ever busy, Bangalore-Mumbai route covering several backward regions. This line is believed to cause serious damage to the forest regions of Malnad ; an alternative route from Talaguppa to Kumta via Siddapur and Sirsi is not being considered as it does little good for the railways unlike the route to Honnavar (which is just 20 Kms South of Kumta). The route to Honnavar is important as it provides the much needed connectivity to the Gerusoppa dam downstream Jog Falls, where hydroelectricity is generated. The Hubli-Ankola railway line which has time and again failed to receive the environmental clearance, could scrapped once for all, if this project were to materialize.
6.) Bangalore-Pune railway line doubling
This railway line that runs through Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka and Miraj & Karad in Maharashtra is a crucial line connecting between Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune to the South. The line is already saturated and is operating beyond its capacity ; it would be no surprise if an expert were to suggest its quadrupling in future. Hence the line needs to be strengthened.
7.) Bidar-Gulbarga railway line
At the first look it might seem ridiculous to mention this is a project important for the country as it is intended to connect 2 of the virtually unknown destinations in Karnataka. However, some of the vital facts associated with this project needs to be considered before making an opinion. When operational, this line can bring down the commuting time between Delhi and the South by nearly 7 hours. Presently all trains are being diverted to Hyderabad due to the absence of this vital link. Also this line passes through all the mineral rich areas of the Karnataka, besides the country's largest cement factory (Wadi in Karnataka).
8.)
Mysore-Thalassery railway line
This line which has been mired in controversies
ever since the tine of the late railway minister, Mr Lal Bahadur Shastry, has
the potential to bring down the travel time from North Kerala to Bangalore and
subsequently the other parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, by nearly 6
hours. In addition to functioning as an alternate route for trains plying on the
Trivandrum-Chennai route (albeit longer), the feasibility of this project would
be high as the line would cover, Mysore and Bangalore in Karnataka.
The other controversial projects for the Mysore
divison of South Western Railway like, Mysore- Madikeri-Mangalore and Mysore – Kushalnagar, could be integrated with this plan
to ensure that a railway line is laid between Mysore and Madikeri. From Madikeri onwards,
the line could be split into 2 with one going towards Mangalore and the other
to Kannur / Thalassery in Kerala.
All the statements I have made above are on the basis of my personal opinion and knowledge, which could be shallow or improper. There could be certain facts to which I have not been adequately exposed. In such an event, the above post may not be all that correct.
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