Udupi: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje symbolically inaugurated the electrification of the entire 740-kilometre Konkan Railway stretch at the Indrali Railway Station in Udupi at the same time as Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the electrification project to the nation in Bengaluru.
Electrification of the entire Konkan Railway line is a dream come true for the people of the region, she said.
“The Konkan Railway is the lifeline and pride of India’s coastal region. It serves as a connecting point between the north and south. No one can mention the Konkan Railway without remembering the late leader George Fernandes, who brought the coastal people’s dream to life,” she remarked.
The Minister said that total electrification of the line will save the Centre Rs. 380 Crore annually, as well as Rs. 180 Crore in fuel costs and another Rs. 120 Crore in maintenance costs, as it is a pollution-free mode of transportation with low fuel costs.
Karandlaje said the Prime Minister’s target is to develop the entire railway network on the same gauge. The country’s railway network spans 67,956 km, with 45,881 km of gauge conversion completed and the remaining distance set to be completed by 2024.
The project will receive a budgetary allocation of Rs. 13,500 Crore adding that the expansion of the road and railway networks is critical for promoting business and trade.
B. B. Nikkam, Regional Manager of the Konkan Railway at Karwar, made the presidential address. Sumithra Nayak, the President of the Udupi City Municipal Council, and Sudha Krishnamurthy, the Konkan Railway PRO were present.
