About 98 per cent of the 760km-long railway project is complete. E Sreedharan, chairman of the Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC), says that freight traffic on the line will begin in December 1996 and the line will be open for passenger traffic latest by February 1997.
This is the first time in Indian history that four state governments have joined hands with the central government to begin a project of this size. But the most important aspect of the project is the impetus it will have on the lives of the 10 million people who live in the Konkan belt.
If you probe deeper, you will probably realise that the remaining portion of the project could stretch into months or maybe years to be completed. The delay is mainly in Goa, where the alignment went wrong, and the state government ordered suspension of work until the problem was sorted out. Predictably, the stoppage of work had a cascading effect. The uncertainty over the completion schedule of work on the Goa route continues, and there is slow progress in constructing the tunnels in the state owing to geological problems.
The project was to have been completed by October 1994, but operational problems led to its delay. The corporation has received the government's approval to raise Rs 150 crore by issuing 10.5% tax-free bonds for Rs 1,000 each for cash at a discount of 5 per cent, aggregating Rs 150 crore. The bonds have received an AAA credit rating from Crisil, which indicates high safety.
The completion of the project will benefit the public immensely, reducing journey time to Goa by 10 hours, to Cochin by over 12 hours and to Mangalore by over 26 hours. Besides providing an impetus to tourism, the railway line will contribute to a savings of at least Rs 200 crore a year in foreign exchange by reducing fuel requirements in road transport.
The delay notwithstanding, the kick-off will mark the completion of an enterprising effort. The entire Konkan line has been built for trains travelling at speeds of 160 km an hour. Besides, one of the via-ducts at Panvel has the distinction of being even taller than the Qutab Minar.
The project cost has been estimated at Rs 2,780 crore, with the funding cost alone being Rs 550 crore. The funding will be a combination of equity, debt and lease financing.
Since the government has allowed part-funding of the project to the tune of $70 million through external commercial borrowings, funding the line is definitely not a problem.
The project cost, initially estimated at Rs 860 crore, has ballooned by over four times. The KRC chairman attributes the overrun to the survey being partial and to the fact that the adverse soil conditions had not been taken into consideration when the first estimate was made. Even inflation had not been accounted for, he said.
The deadline for completion has been put off at least eight times. Before criticising the corporation for the delay in commissioning the project, one has to realise the gigantic work involved since the entire 760km length consists of hills of the western ghats, cris-crossed by rivers, rivulets and streams.
Konkan Railway is being constructed on a build, operate, transfer (BOT) basis. It helps build infrastructure like railways,dams or roads with public money being invested.
