MARGAO
Even as its monsoon timetable will come into effect from June 10 and remain in force till October 31, the Konkan Railway on Friday said it is fully committed to the welfare of its passengers, saying all efforts are being made to maintain track and passenger amenities ensuring all safety-related guidelines and Covid-19 protocols.
Gearing up for the onset of the monsoon season in the Konkan region, the KR has completed safety works on Kolad-Thokur route.
“The largescale geo-safety works executed along the railway line in last few years have significantly reduced the incidences of falling boulders and slippage of soil. No major disruption to train services has occurred on account of boulders falling during the monsoons in the last eight years,” KRC Senior Officer, Baban Ghatge, added.
He said KR will conduct monsoon patrolling as per the prescribed guidelines to ensure safe running of trains. “About 681 personnel will patrol 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. BRN mounted excavators have been kept ready at nominated points for quick movement in case of any emergency,” he added.
Instructions have also been issued to loco pilots 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 operation theatre and emergency medical aid are kept ready at Ratnagiri and Verna (Goa). The ART (Accident Relief Train) is also kept ready at Verna (Goa).
Mobile phones have been provided to all safety category staff to contact the control office/ station in an emergency. Both loco pilots and guards of trains have been provided with Walkie-talkie sets as well as every station is equipped with a 25 watt VHF base station. This enables wireless communication between the train crew and Station Master. Emergency Communication (EMC) sockets have been provided at a distance of one kilometre along the route that enables the patrolmen, watchmen, loco pilots, guard and other field maintenance staff to contact the station master and control office during any emergency situations.
Satellite phone communication has been provided in ARMV (Accident Relief Medical Van) for emergency contact. All main signal aspects on KR are now replaced with LEDs for improving signal visibility.
