KRC's
bullet train put on hold
Sandesh Prabhudesai
24 June 2003
The tragic ever accident on the Konkan railway route in the
Konkan region of Maharashtra has put on hold the ambitious
project of fast-speed Mumbai-Goa train, popularly called the
'bullet train'.
"We will not give a green signal to the proposal until
geological set up of the whole region is examined thoroughly",
said Sudhir Kumar, the commissioner for railway safety.
The unusual landslide near Kankavli on the mouth of the Nerle
tunnel on Sunday night was a horrifying incident that claimed
over 50 lives, leaving several injured. The pitch-dark area,
heavy downpour and inaccessibility made the rescue operations
also quite difficult.
Though Kankavli stretch is not known for such landslides,
the railway safety commissioner has taken serious note of
increasing landslides along the whole stretch in Maharashtra,
Goa and Karnataka. The whole stretch has reported landslides
in all the three states since monsoons have hit the western
coast.
The KRC had conducted series of successful trial runs of
the 'bullet train' recently, to check the feasibility of the
single track with a speed up to 160 kms per hour. The train
is expected to cover Mumbai-Goa distance merely within four
hours.
However, mere feasibility of the track, according to Kumar,
is not the sole criteria to clear the bullet train project.
Local media reports state that he is not prepared to allow
the KRC authorities to start the bullet train unless the cause
of landslides is examined from safety angle.
B Rajaram, the CMD of the KRC, told a group of reporters
at the accident site yesterday that it was an unexpected landslide
in the area that pushed the locomotive off the track and the
bogies telescoped over each other under the impact, causing
the mishap.
Dr K K Gokhle, director, operations of the KRC, expressed
similar views while talking to the local media here in Margao.
Though the whole region is prone to landslides, it was not
noticed on the Kankavli stretch.
However, Gokhle admits that it will take minimum seven to
ten years for the lose soil to stabilise in the region. The
KRC is also planning to grow vegetation that can hold the
soil.
C K Johnson, the driver of the train, claims that the tragedy
could be worst if he was running the train at the normal speed
at around 100 kms per hour. While getting treated his fractured
leg at the Goa Medical College here, he says the train was
slowed down due to heavy downpour.
While most of the injured have been shifted to nearby district
hospitals in the Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, Johnson,
along with his assistant R K Gupta and Sunil Sawant, a passenger,
have been shifted here.
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