If it weren’t for George Fernandes, the Konkan Railway project might never have seen the light of day. Fernandes, who hailed from the Konkan was a railway minister who was keen to see the region progress and one of the ways for that to happen was to build an efficient railway system. Now, 25 years later when the current Union Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu laid the foundation stone for an innovative project, it would only be apt that it bore the name of the man who gave so much to the mother project.
The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) will soon establish the George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology in Goa, with the stone laid at Margao. This is a bold and ambitious statement, since it would only be the second institute of its kind in the world. The institute will, in Prabhu’s words, be a repository of knowledge and data and will provide training in tunnel technology and consultancy services for tunnels and underground construction.
The ‘Make in India’ project hopes to become the focal point for requirements in tunnel technology in Asia. This is not an impossibility. While road networks are ever expanding and widening, the impetus these days, in an age of globalization and high expectations of service, is to make sure there are speedy deliveries of products across the board. Railway networks can get anything across distances quicker than the fastest truck. As India starts to invest in transport infrastructure, this tunnel institute is an ideal move. All terrain based infrastructure will require experts in tunneling, given that a large part of India consists of undulating topography. As far as passenger traffic goes, this will enable not just Konkan Railway but the entire Indian Railways to start widening the scope of services provided.
Right now, experts in tunnel technology pass out of one institute “ The Institute for Rock Mechanics and Tunnelling in Graz, Austria, where a course will set one back by a massive Rs 6 lakh approximately, for a year-long course. That is only the beginning. Having an institute here will encourage aspirants to study tunnel technology, rock mechanics at a much lower cost. The institute in Graz will also, incidentally, lend itsr expertise to the faculty at this Goa-based institute.
The costs to tunnel through one kilometre in India right now, is approximately Rs 50-100 crore, depending on various factors. With an institute in the country, there would be no need to fly in experts from outside the country, and this would mean a drop of at least 20 percent in costs, if not more.
But there is more to this project. Looking at just India will be narrowing the field too much. The possibilities are endless. Being the only institute in Asia and neighbouring regions will have its advantages. It also puts Goa on the map of specialised education, this time with an international touch.
The George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology is a good move on the part of the Konkan Railway, which has blood on its hands because of faulty tunnels in the past. Perhaps this time, they will make their own luck, as well as improve the scope of education in Goa, by providing the state with a facility that has world class potential.
