The entire Konkan Railway track, right from Mumbai to Mangaluru, will be electrified in one-and-a-half year’s time, Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.

Goyal, who is in Goa to kick off the Bharatiya Janata Party’s membership campaign, also said that his ministry is also monitoring the doubling of railway tracks from Hubli to Hospet railway stations in Karnataka. 

“We will be electrifying Konkan Railway right from Mumbai to Mangaluru. The whole route will be electrified at a cost of Rs. 1,100 crore spread over one-and-a-half year maximum,” Goyal said.

The Konkan Railway route is spread across 741 km between Maharashtra and Karnataka connected by 67 stations. 

Much of the single track is non-electrified, which means only polluting diesel engines operate on the Konkan Railway track that passes through the ecologically sensitive Western Ghat region.

Goyal said the pollution caused by diesel trains along the Konkan Railway route would be virtually nil with 100% electrification. 

“We are making Konkan Railways 100% electrified. The environmental damage will be lessened. This will help in increase of speed and Konkan Railway will run on clean fuel,” Goyal said.

Goyal also said that there would be an increase in the number of railway compartments with glass covered vista-domes, which he said were a hit with travellers along the Konkan Railway route. 

“Vista-domes (are) in more trains on the Goa track because it is a beautiful stretch. It never goes empty,” he said.