| A Maze of Tunnels | | | | an endless chain of foothills of the Western Ghats |
| The journey is just awesome and unforgettable. | | | | from where number of rivers flow into the |
| While travelling by train on a high embankment, | | | | Arabian Sea. |
| you suddenly come across a tunnel which is more | | | | Since the year 1991, 25000 workers worked day |
| than 3-km long. During the winters a stream | | | | and night to blast the rocks which lie between the |
| bursts below and in during the summers one can | | | | Ghats on the east and the Arabian Sea. They had |
| find the red earth snakes. The passengers need | | | | to face numerous hardships as inhaling the polluted |
| to catch their breath for a while; for around 50 | | | | air of underground shafts was quiet injurious. |
| above the ground, the train then moves | | | | The complete Western Coast of |
| downwards into another tunnel, which is more | | | | Indian-subcontinent has been dependent on a |
| than 6-km in length. This takes around 3 minutes | | | | single arterial road which is National Highway 17. |
| and then the train is out. The scenic beauty of | | | | This road is now completely damaged due to rain. |
| the Panval River leaves you mesmerized. | | | | The Konkan Railways has now become an |
| The Konkan Railway, is the biggest railway | | | | important alternative in crossing this belt. The |
| project in the world prepared in last 5 decades. | | | | Konkan Railway, which extends from Mumbai is a |
| This railway Project is of around Rs. 2,000-crore | | | | broad gauge single line, this moves through the |
| and connects to the coastal areas of Maharashtra, | | | | areas which are between Manglore and Roha. This |
| Karnataka, Goa which gives the striking view of | | | | is a complete distance of 750-km out of which, |
| the West Coast of Indian-subcontinent. | | | | 382-km lies in the state of Maharashtra, 105-km in |
| The network of these railways is expanding at | | | | the state of Goa and 263-km in the state of |
| the rapid rate of 1,000 miles, this railways | | | | Karnataka. |
| network was started from Boribunder to Thane | | | | There are as many as 53 stations on this line, the |
| in the year 1853. In the year 1907 the broad | | | | most important stations are Khed, Veer, Chiplun, |
| gauge was started in south and it gradually | | | | Rajapur Road, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Goa, Udupi, |
| reached Mangalore. | | | | Mapusa Road, Mangalore, among others. Konkan |
| In the year 1882, a survey was conducted along | | | | Railway has built a strong nexus with Kerala from |
| the striking estuaries, and during the monsoon, | | | | the Southern Karnataka. This line extends to |
| rice paddies were turned into lakes, it thus | | | | Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and Kochi |
| became very difficult for the engineers. There is | | | | (Cochin). |