Parliament Question: Over Utilisation of Roha-Madgaon Section

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2785 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 OVER UTILISATION OF ROHA-MADGAON SECTION 2785. SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that the Roha-Madgaon section of the Konkan Railway is operating at an acute capacity utilization of approximately 168 per cent causing severe year- round waitlists and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether Central Railway has received representations regarding the immediate coach augmentation of major passenger trains on this route to their maximum permissible limit (potentially adding 45 coaches and 3691 seats daily) and if so, the details thereof; and (c) the details of the specific time-bound action plan to address this heavy demand-supply mismatch and implement these cost-effective infrastructure solutions initiated by the Railway Board in coordination with Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) was established in 1990 with five shareholders, namely, Ministry of Railways, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Goa, Government of Karnataka and Government of Kerala. The Konkan Railway line extends from Roha in Maharashtra to Thokur in Karnataka. The average line capacity utilization of Roha–Madgaon section of the Konkan Railway route is about 145 %. On Indian Railways, demand pattern is not § Page 1 of 7uniform throughout the year, and it varies over lean and peak periods. During peak rush periods, the occupancy of the trains especially on popular routes remains full whereas during lean period and on less popular routes, there is sub-optimal utilization. To increase the line capacity of Konkan railway route, 08 crossing stations viz. Sape-Wamane, Kalambani, Kadvai, Veravali, Kharepatan, Achirne, Indapur & Goregaon Road & 12 additional loop lines viz Vinhere, Anjani, Savarda, Adavali, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sawantvadi Road (2), Karanjadi, Madgaon and Chiplun have also been constructed over Konkan Railway route between Roha to Madgaon during the last 10 years. Out of the 739-route km of Konkan Railway jurisdiction, doubling of about 55 km between Roha- Veer and Madgaon-Majorda sections has already been completed. The work of preparation of feasibility survey for doubling of identified sections (263 km) to increase the capacity of route has been sanctioned. Presently there are 57 pairs of Mail/Express/Passenger trains operating over Konkan Railway. Most of mail/express trains are running with full load. The details of trains operating over Konkan Railway are as under: SN Train No. & Train Name 1 10103/10104 Mandovi Express 2 10105/10106 Diva – Sawantwadi Express 3 10107/10108 Madgaon – Mangaluru MEMU Express 4 10109/10110 Madgaon – Karwar Express 5 10115/10116 Bandra (T) – Madgaon Express 6 10215/10216 Madgaon – Ernakulam SF Express Page 2 of 77 11003/11004 Tutari Express 8 11097/11098 Poorna Express 9 11099/11100 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Madgaon Express 10 11203/11204 Nagpur – Madgaon Express 11 12051/12052 Jan Shatabdi Express 12 12133/12134 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) – Mangaluru Jn Express 13 12201/12202 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Kochuveli Garib Rath Express 14 12217/12218 Kerala Sampark Kranti Express 15 12223/12224 Ernakulam Jn – Lokmanya Tilak (T) Duronto Express 16 12283/12284 Hazrat Nizamuddin – Ernakulam Jn Duronto Express 17 12431/12432 Thiruvananthapuram Central – Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express 18 12449/12450 Goa Sampark Kranti Express 19 12483/12484 Kochuveli – Amritsar SF Express 20 12617/12618 Mangala Lakshadweep Express 21 12619/12620 Matsyagandha Express 22 12741/12742 Vasco de Gama – Patna SF Express 23 12789/12790 Kacheguda – Kumta SF Express 24 12977/12978 Marusagar SF Express 25 16311/16312 Shri Ganganagar – Thiruvananthapuram North Express 26 16333/16334 Veraval – Thiruvananthapuram Central Express Page 3 of 727 16335/16336 Gandhidham – Nagercoil Express 28 16337/16338 Okha – Ernakulam Express 29 16345/16346 Netravati Express 30 16515/16516 Karwar – Yesvantpur Express 31 16585/16586 SMVT Bengaluru – MurdeshwarExpress 32 16595/16596 Panchaganga SF Express 33 19057/19058 Surat – Mangaluru Jn Express 34 19259/19260 Bhavnagar (T) – Thiruvananthapuram North Express 35 19577/19578 Tirunelveli – Jamnagar Express 36 20111/20112 Konkankanya Express 37 20645/20646 Madgaon – Mangaluru Central Vande Bharat 38 20909/20910 Thiruvananthapuram North – Porbandar SF Express 39 20923/20924 Gandhidham – Tirunelveli Humsafar Express 40 20931/20932 Thiruvananthapuram North- Indore SF Express 41 22113/22114 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Thiruvananthapuram North SF Express 42 22115/22116 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Karmali SF Express 43 22119/22120 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) – Madgaon Tejas Express 44 22149/22150 Ernakulam – Pune SF Express 45 22229/22230 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) – Madgaon Vande Bharat Express 46 22413/22414 Madgaon – Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express Page 4 of 747 22475/22476 Hisar – Coimbatore SF Express 48 22629/22630 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Tirunelveli SF Express 49 22633/22634 Thiruvananthapuram Central – Hazrat Nizamuddin SF Express 50 22653/22654 Thiruvananthapuram Central – Hazrat Nizamuddin SF Express 51 22655/22656 Ernakulam – Hazrat Nizamuddin SF Express 52 22659/22660 Thiruvananthapuram North – Yog Nagari Rishikesh SF Express 53 22907/22908 Madgaon – Hapa SF Express 54 50103/50104 Diva – Ratnagiri Passenger 55 50107/50108 Sawantwadi – Madgaon Passenger 56 70101/70102 Madgaon – Karwar Passenger (MEMU) 57 56615/56616 Madgaon – Mangaluru Passenger In addition to this, during various festivals, summer vacation and long weekends, 381 Ganpati, 249 Summer, 148 Winter & 1366 other Specials were run during 2025-26 to clear the extra rush of passengers on Konkan Railway. Non AC coaches on IR ( General and Sleeper) Indian Railways (IR), continuously monitor the demand pattern and makes consistent efforts to cater to the needs of travelling passengers by introducing new trains, extending and increasing the frequencies of existing trains. Loads of existing trains are also augmented, both on temporary and permanent basis, to enhance the accommodation available for passengers. Page 5 of 7With a view to meet the demand of passengers travelling in unreserved coaches, Indian Railways (IR) have significantly increased the facilities for passengers demanding general class travel. During the financial year 2024-25 alone, 1250 general coaches have been utilised in various long-distance trains to have at least 4 general class coaches. Similarly, during the year 2025-26 about 870 Coaches including 160 General Class have been utilised for permanent augmentation. This includes trains operated on Konkan railway line also. To cater to the travel demand of the low and middle income families, Indian Railways (IR) have taken up manufacturing of 17,000 non-AC coaches (general/sleeper). On Indian Railways, the percentage of non-AC coaches is about 70%, while the percentage of non-AC seats is around 78% as compared to AC seats which is around 22%. The details are as under: Table 1: Distribution of Coaches: Type of Coaches No. of Coaches Percentage Non-AC coaches (general and sleeper) ~62,000 ~70% AC coaches ~27,000 ~30% Total coaches ~89,000 100% Table 2: Distribution of Seats: Type of Seats Number of Seats Percentage Non-AC Seats ~54 lakhs ~78% AC Seats ~15 lakhs ~22% Total Seats ~69 lakhs 100% Page 6 of 7Waiting list pattern is monitored on regular basis. To cater to additional demand, various steps are taken such as running special trains, introduction of new trains, increase in frequency/extension of existing trains, augmentation of loads of existing trains on permanent basis etc. subject to operational feasibility. Further, waiting list limits have also been rationalised linking it to the extent of accommodation of that class available in that train. Proposals/ requests/ suggestions/ representations, both formal and informal inter alia for augmentation of trains are received from Members of Parliament, elected representatives, organizations/rail users etc. at various levels including Railway Board, Zonal Railways, Divisional Office etc. The receipt of such proposals/ requests/ suggestions is a continuous and dynamic process. These are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time, which is an on-going process. ***** Page 7 of 7