PROJECT MANAGEMENTKONKAN RAILWAY

INTRODUCTION

The Konkan Railway was the missing link between Indias commercial capital, Mumbai, and Mangalore. The 741-kilometre line connects Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka States a region of criss-crossing rivers, plunging valleys and mountains that soar into the clouds.It is known as an engineering marvel across the world. Built across some of the toughest terrains, Konkan Railways has over 2,000 bridges and 91 tunnels. The project was considered the biggest and perhaps most difficult railway undertaking during this century, at least in this part of the world. Mr. E Sreedharan was Member, Engineering, of the Railway Board and being a born construction engineer, he was very enthusiastic about the idea of the Konkan Railway as it would be a challenging assignment.

THE BACKGROUND

The Konkan is a coastal strip of land bounded by the Sahyadri hills on the east, and Arabian Sea on the west. It is a land where mythology breathes side by side with economic growth, a land with rich mineral resources, dense forest cover and a landscape fringed with paddy, coconut and mango trees. The formidable terrain to be conquered and the short construction period meant that the project could only be completed with the help of several technological innovations.

THE CHALLENGES

There were challenges posed by the terrain and the elements. Flash floods, landslides and tunnel collapses affected work at many places on the project. The region was also thickly forested, and construction sites were often plagued by wild animals.A major challenge in the area was landacquisitionas circa 43000 landowners had to be negotiated with. But though land relatedlawsuitsare common in theKonkan, when KRCL began persuading people to give up property that had belonged to their families for generations, many gave it up voluntarily, convinced of the importance of the project. This enabled the entire process to be completed in just a year.

Since it would take too long to complete the project using locally available tunnelling technology, nine hydraulic tunnelling machines were imported from Sweden in order to bore through the hard rock of the Sahayadris. The biggest challenge, however, came from the nine tunnels that had to be bored through soft soil. No technology existed anywhere in the world for this purpose and the work had to be carried out through a painstakingly slow manual process. Excavation was almost impossible due to the clayey soil that was saturated with water owing to a high water table in the region. Several times tunnels collapsed immediately after they had been dug, necessitating work to be redone.

As the youngest Railway transport system in India, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) had to scale quickly and required timely information on all services from delivery to planning. With a large debt burden, there was pressure to run the newly formed railway system in a cost-effective manner. The need was for a leaner setup and the specific business needs included:To transport people and freight in trains, with near 100 % punctuality, 24x7 timeEnsure satisfaction of both employees and customers Quickly 'empower' new employees (users) in railway operations

Build /acquire, maintain and replace fixed and rolling assetsOperate with safety and speedCo-ordinate and assume responsibility on building projects like tunnelsCapitalize on the massive opportunity in time-based transport resources, maintaining work schedules in an information-intensive and time-bound environmentEnsure financial viability with low TCOCollect payments in exchange of services as a commercial entity within the government

THE PLANNING

The entire project length of 760 Km. was divided in seven sectors, each approximately 100 Km. long, headed by a Chief Engineer. The sectors were Mahad, Ratnagiri (north), Ratnagiri (south), Kudal, Panaji, Karwar and Udupi.At the corporate office, there was a team of senior officers specializing in civil engineering, electrical engineering, signal and telecom engineering, mechanical engineering, and stores and finance, who provided the strategic inputs of design, planning, tendering and contracting of large works.The authorised capital of Rs.800 crores was pooled together by the railways and the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa and Maharashtra.

At the peak of the construction period, there were no more than 2,400 personnel, starting from the CMD to the lowest rung.The establishment of computer Wide Area Networks (WANs) and Local Area Networks (LANs) augmented their efforts, providing instantaneous fax and voice communication all along the route, which resulted in quick decision-making and prevented stalling of work.760 kms of rails to be laid with little gradient.2000 bridges to build92 tunnels totaling 83kM to bore

42,000 landowners to deal with to acquire 4,850 hectares of land4 state governments to interact withLife-styles and environment to be least disturbedA near flat track and a curvature of 1.25kM radius was to be maintained if the trains were to reach the target speeds of 160 km per hour. Because the areas where Konkan Railway operates are generally very remote, the organization needed a reliable, easy-to-maintain data-server to drive its Railway Application Package.

THE RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS

KRC Ltd is a joint venture between the central government and the state governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. Though the railway line does not enter Kerala, the local government was convinced of the benefits that Konkan Railway would have for its economy and the people; so it decided to join as a shareholder.The authorised share capital was raised in 1996-97 from Rs 600 crore to Rs 800 crore, with the government of India taking a 51 per cent share, while the rest went to Maharashtra (22 per cent), Karnataka (15 per cent), Kerala (6 per cent) and Goa (6 per cent). So far, however, the corporation has only received Rs 746.40 crore by way of paid-up capital.

SHAREHOLDING PATTERN

THE SCHEDULING

On July 19, 1990, Konkan railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) was incorporated as a public limited company under the Companies Act, 1956After the laying of the foundation stone at Roha by Mr.Sharad Pawar on September 15, 1990, it had to conquer the unrelenting terrain between Roha and Mangalore, cross dozens of mountains and rivers, and build a 760 Km. railway line.In March 1993, the southernmost section of 47 kilometres (29mi) betweenThokurandUdupi inKarnataka was inaugurated, followed by the northernmost section of 47 kilometres (29mi) between Roha and Veer inMaharashtrain June 1993.

The first passenger train on Konkanrailway route was run between Mangalore and Udupi on 20 March 1993.The service was extended by 51 kilometres (32mi) from Veer to Khed in March 1995, and by a further 265 kilometres (165mi) from Khed toSawantwadiRoad in December 1996.Services on the southern end were extended by 32 kilometres (20mi) from Udupi toKundapurain January 1995, and by a further 275 kilometres (171mi) till Pernem inGoain August 1997

However, through services between Mumbai and Mangalore continued to remain on hold due to a problematic tunnel at Pernem, which was facing repeated cave-ins and flooding.The tunnel was finally completed in January 1998, six years after its construction had commenced.Through services on the line commenced after a formal inauguration of the entire stretch of 740 kilometres (460mi) from Roha toThokur on January 26, 1998.Trains carrying passengers started running along the full route between Mumbai and Mangalore from May 1998.

THE INNOVATIONS

Paperless train operations, with full 180 view for all train controllers & stationsControl through IT with gas detectors to take control of long-tunnel's forced-ventilationA Database-driven Intelligent platform lighting system with photo-voltaic capabilities for monsoonsDirect-to-database linked town booking agencies (since 2002) and Internet booking (since 2003)Dynamic trains position on internetA primary corporate database with HADRSmooth monitoring and control of train operationsAll managers and 500+staff are always connected to single KR-Network (LAN+WAN)

KONKAN RAILWAY GETS PATENT!

In a major development that will open new vistas for the Konkan Railway, the Anti-Collision Device (ACD) developed by Konkan Railway, has been granted Patent by three major countries, namely China, Russia and Singapore, thus giving recognition to this wonder technology in these countries and opening up possibilities of export of the technology in future.The Anti-Collision Device, indigenously designed by Konkan Railway, is an intelligent, self-acting microprocessor-based equipment that successfully prevents collision kind of train accidents in mid-sections, station area and at level crossings, thereby saving the precious lives of train passengers as well as road users.

THE CONCLUSION

Apart from setting a trend for other infrastructure projects in the country, the Konkan Railway provides concrete proof of the skills of Indian engineers, their discipline, team spirit and courage. But it is also a tribute to the unconquerable human spirit. Beyond the technical jargon, it was a leap of faith that made the long cherished dream of the people of the region possible.The completion of the Konkan Railway was a tryst with destiny for many people in the Konkan region, redeemed in the 50th year of the nations Independence. It is hence entirely fitting that the first train on the completed track was flagged off on January 26, 1998, Republic Day.