Work on Eastern Freight Corridor to begin by Nov

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-08-16
MARGAO- The managing director of Konkan Railway Coporation, Mr Anurag Mishra, chairman of the railway board, Mr K C Jaena and the general manager of South Western Railways, Mr Pravin Kumar on Friday said that the work on the Eastern Freight Corridor will begin by October or November, while, the work on the Western Corridor will also be taken up shortly as the process is in the final stages.
They said that for the railways, the freight corridor is very important as it is the major revenue earners and further added that the high speed corridor for passengers is also on the anvil.
Mr Jaena said that the high speed trains, which will have speeds of around 300 km per hour, will be comparatively expensive as compared to other trains.
He said that the railways have identified five routes between Delhi-Amritsar, which is being studied by a consultant on the feasibility, commercial aspects, etc, while the other routes include Mumbai- Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Pune, Chennai-Coimbator-Ernakulam and Chennai-Sikandrabhad.
He also said that the high speed trains will also require high tracks in order to avoid manning of the lines and said that it will cost the railways around Rs 500 to 1000 crore.
He said that the corridors will be built on private-public partnership and that the state governments will have to invest 50 per cent of the cost.
The top railway officials were in Goa for the laying of the foundation stone for the railway employees holiday home opposite the Konkan Railway Station.
Speaking further, Mr Kumar informed that the doubling of the railway line from Hospet in Karnataka to Vasco will also be taken up at a whooping cost of Rs 3000 crore as the line will pass through difficult terrains of the Western Ghat, etc and will be financed by the Asian Development Bank.
He said that after the doubling of lines more trains can be introduced on this route and added that at present only three trains are operating on this route.
Mr Mishra informed that more lines are being planned to be laid between Sawantwadi and Pernem.
It also informed that though the railways can take up doubling of lines, the present tracks can accommodate 20 more trains and that the railways are also planning to connect Ankola and Suratkar to Vasco and the work will be completed in three years.
With regard to the sky bus, Mr Mishra said that a global expression of interest will be floated within two months and global consultants will be invited to study the project.
About the safety at the Margao station, he informed that CCTVs have been sanctioned and that the systems are being procured.
With regard to the sealing of entry points he said that he recently had discussion with the Chief Minister in this regard and added that it is next to impossible to have just 1, 2 or even 4 points.