The Konkan Railway corridor, one of India’s busiest coastal rail routes, is operating at an average line capacity utilisation of around 145% between Roha and Madgaon, highlighting the growing pressure on the network as passenger demand continues to outpace available capacity.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Indian Railways has been expanding infrastructure on the Konkan route through additional crossing stations, loop lines and track doubling to improve operational capacity. Proposals for new trains and augmentation of existing services are examined on a continuous basis, subject to operational feasibility.
The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), established in 1990, operates the railway line between Roha in Maharashtra and Thokur in Karnataka. The route serves as a key rail link connecting Maharashtra, Goa and coastal Karnataka while carrying long-distance trains to Kerala and other southern states.
Infrastructure upgrades underway to ease congestion
To improve traffic flow on the heavily utilised corridor, Indian Railways has commissioned eight new crossing stations and 12 additional loop lines on the Roha-Madgaon section over the past decade.
The new crossing stations have been built at Sape-Wamane, Kalambani, Kadvai, Veravali, Kharepatan, Achirne, Indapur and Goregaon Road. Additional loop lines have been added at stations including Vinhere, Anjani, Savarda, Adavali, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sawantwadi Road, Karanjadi, Madgaon and Chiplun.
The ministry also said around 55 km of doubling work between the Roha-Veer and Madgaon-Majorda sections has already been completed. In addition, a feasibility survey has been sanctioned for doubling another 263 km of identified sections to further enhance route capacity.
Despite these upgrades, the route continues to experience heavy utilisation because demand varies across the year. Railways noted that trains on popular routes remain fully occupied during peak travel seasons, while occupancy is comparatively lower during lean periods and on less-frequented routes.
More trains, special services to handle seasonal rush
At present, 57 pairs of Mail, Express and Passenger trains operate on the Konkan Railway route, with the ministry stating that most Mail and Express services continue to run with full passenger loads.
To accommodate seasonal demand, Indian Railways operated 381 Ganpati Special trains, 249 Summer Specials, 148 Winter Specials and 1,366 other special services on the Konkan Railway during 2025-26.
The ministry said passenger demand is monitored regularly, and additional capacity is provided through new trains, increased frequencies, extension of services and augmentation of existing trains whenever operationally feasible.
Railways increases focus on non-AC travel
Alongside infrastructure expansion, Indian Railways said it is continuing to increase the availability of non-AC accommodation to meet demand from budget travellers.
During 2024-25, around 1,250 General Class coaches were utilised across long-distance trains to ensure at least four general coaches in services where required. In 2025-26, nearly 870 coaches, including 160 General Class coaches, were added through permanent augmentation, benefiting trains operating on the Konkan Railway route as well.
The ministry also reiterated that Indian Railways has taken up the manufacture of 17,000 non-AC coaches, including General and Sleeper coaches, to cater to growing demand from low and middle-income passengers.
According to the government, non-AC coaches currently account for around 70% of the railway coach fleet and nearly 78% of passenger seating capacity across the Indian Railways network.
The government added that requests from Members of Parliament, public representatives, organisations and rail users for additional train services are examined on a continuous basis, with decisions taken wherever they are found feasible and operationally justified.