Central Railway is currently carrying out a survey to find a lower-gradient rail route which would serve as an alternative option to the Pune-Mumbai connectivity via the steep Bhor Ghat, The Indian Express reported. An approval has been given by the Railway Board on a project which will reduce travel time by 20-30 minutes. However, the length of the route will be longer than the available alignment. As per the Central Railway, this will remove the need to have an additional engine strength to maneuver trains.
The chief public relations officer of CR, Swapnil Neela, said that the survey started five months ago. “The present alignment between Mumbai and Pune in the ghat section is very steep with a gradient of 1.37. The aim of the project is to bring down the gradient to 1.100,” Neela added.
Neela mentioned that the gentler gradient will decrease the need for banker locomotives when navigating trains through the steep slopes of the ghats. “Passenger coach trains may not require the banker locomotives due to the reduced slope. They might be used for goods trains,” he added.
He also said that while the route will be longer than the current alignment, it will cut down the travel time. The survey will present the available options, after which decisions will be made regarding the most feasible route alignments.
The current alignment between Pune and Mumbai was established in the mid-19th century. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) undertook the challenging task of laying railway lines and carving tunnels through the rugged terrain and deep ravines of the Bhor Ghat, using the limited tools available at that time.