The Konkan Railway has geared itself ahead of the onset of monsoon season in Konkan region to provide safe travel for its passengers.
All its planned safety works on its route from Kolad to Thokur have been completed, said a public relation officer of the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) on Friday.
Monsoon time table will come into effect from June 10 to October 31. Passengers who have been issued journey tickets prior to the announcement of the monsoon time table are requested to check the timings of their train well in advance as the departure timing of some trains will be revised. Passengers may monitor their train online by visiting www.konkanrailway.com or using KRCL app.
The large scale safety works executed along the railway line in the last 13 years have significantly reduced the incidences of boulder fall and soil slip, thus ensuring the safe running of trains. No major disruption to train services has occurred on account of boulder fall during monsoons in the last six years.
Konkan Railway will conduct monsoon patrolling as per the provisions of Indian Railway Permanent Way Manual to ensure the safe running of trains. About 630 personnel will be patrolling the Konkan Railway route during the monsoon. Vulnerable locations will be patrolled round the clock and stationary watchmen will be deployed for 24 hours at critical locations. Speed restrictions will be imposed at vulnerable locations. BRN mounted excavators have been kept ready at all nominated points for quick movement in case of an emergency.
Instructions have also been issued to the loco drivers to run the trains at a reduced speed of 40 kmph in case of heavy rainfall when visibility is limited. Self-propelled ARMVs (Accident Relief Medical Van), with the provision of an operation theatre and providing emergency medical aid, are kept ready at Ratnagiri and Verna (Goa) along with ART (Accident Relief Train).
Mobile phones have been provided to all safety category staff to contact central control in an emergency. Both Loco Pilots and Guards of trains have been provided with walkie-talkie sets as well as every station on Konkan Railway is equipped with 25 Watt VHF base station. This enables wireless communication between the train crew as well as train crew and Station Master.
Emergency Communication (EMC) sockets have been provided at a distance of average 1km along the Konkan Railway route that enables the watchmen, Loco Pilots, and other field maintenance staff to contact Station Master and train controllers during any emergency situations in train operations. Satellite phone communication has been provided in ARMV (Accident Relief Medical Van) for emergency contact when ARMV is ordered in service.
All main signal aspects on Konkan Railway are now replaced with LED for improving signal visibility, said the public relation official. Three Control rooms at Belapur, Ratnagiri, and Madgaon, will work 24 x 7 during this period for ensuring the safe running of the train.
Konkan Railway this year is running 50 more trips as compared to the 146 summer special trips run in Summer 2018. Furthermore, 166 trips of special trains have already been announced for devotees of Lord Ganesha on the occasion of Ganapati Festival 2019.