MUMBAI, JULY 18: For the second consecutive year since it commenced operations, the Konkan Railway Corporation has been hit by landslides, this time throwing schedules out of gear at the weekend. Following a landslide on the Anjani and Chiplun sections on Saturday night, the Ernakulam-bound Netravati Express was delayed in Mumbai by nearly four hours today. The Matsyagandha Express, which runs between Kurla (T) and Mangalore, was also rescheduled by a couple of hours while two passenger trains between Diva-Sawantwadi and Dadar-Ratnagiri were cancelled along with the Intercity Express which was to leave Madgaon for Mumbai.Repair work at the site, which started within an hour of the landslide, was completed by late evening.The Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC) has adopted measures like erecting nylon nets along danger-prone sections. However, officials say landslides continue to dog the railway. While the Netravati Express is invariably delayed by a couple of hours at least, many other trains have beenregularly cancelled or diverted during the last three days.On Friday, floods had washed away about 400 mt of tracks on the Central Railway (CR) stretch of the Jite and Pen sections. The connection between the Konkan route, which starts at Roha near Pen, and the CR had therefore snapped. As a result, the Netravati Express departed for Ernakulam from Pen instead of Mumbai, three hours behind schedule. Passengers say the train ran almost empty till Ernakulam as many failed to embark.However, Mumbai-bound passengers who had embarked at Ernakulam were not so lucky. The Netravati Express, which left Cochin at 4.40 am on July 16 pulled in at Kurla at around 12 pm today - two days after it left Kerala.Ironically, the railway was promoted as a major time-saver, when it took off in 1997.Counters a Konkan Railway official: ``Problems like falling boulders and landslides plague other railway routes as well. Even the 100-year-old Pune Ghats section of the Central Railway is similarly affected every once in awhile.''However, there are other problems specific to the Konkan Railway as well. For one, the absence of a second line along the entire stretch. Second, the absence of any connections to other railways along the route. Thus when services are disrupted, the only option is for passengers to resort to the roads.A railway spokesperson says steps are being taken to minimise disruptions. For instance, after the monsoon last year, over 50 trouble-prone spots have been identified and nylon nets erected. These nets are fixed beside the tracks and often cover entire hillocks. About 2 lakh sq mt of land have been so covered at a cost of Rs 3 crore, most of them in Ratnagiri district. The nets will remain in place this year too.On some occasions, locals have been found to cut away pieces of the nets and sell them in the market. The railway says it is contemplating advertising in the local newspapers, urging people to refrain from doing so. The railway is also building walls near Honnavar in Karnataka to thwartlandslides.
