Mumbai: Central Railway's General Manager conducts pre-monsoon inspection of Karjat-Lonavala section

Central Railway General Manager Ram Karan Yadav, along with his team

Central Railway General Manager Ram Karan Yadav, along with his team, on Friday took to hike the Khandala Ghat hills to conduct a comprehensive pre-monsoon inspection of the Karjat-Lonavala section on the Pune-Mumbai route. This segment, comprising 52 tunnels, towering hills up to 250 meters, and sharp curves with steep gradients, is vital to the Mumbai division's operations.

These mountain stretches have the steepest gradient in the country of 1:37 which means there is a 1-metre rise for every 37 metres.

"This is a historical inspection as it was probably the first time an official of the level of General Manager hiked the Hill for an inspection which started at 5 am and reached the hilltop around 7 am almost covering 3.5 km of hilly route, after reaching the hilltop all critical locations from Monkey Hill Cabin to Thakurwadi were inspected. Shri Rajnish Goyal, Divisional Railway Manager and other senior officers accompanied the General Manager during this Hill Inspection," a CR spokesperson said.

Yadav also inspected the Monkey Hill tunnel ghat this morning, a crucial link connecting Mumbai and Pune hiking almost 3.5 km above the Hill. "He inspected both Track and Hill regions and conducted hilltop and slope inspections to understand the crucial information on the causes of rockfalls/landslides and to plan remedial measures for the stability of the Hill, during the inspection, the General Manager also inspected the maintenance of catch water drains, crucial for diverting water away from hill slopes to prevent any incidents rockfall/ landslide & subsidence of rocks etc," he said.

"The Inspection of General Manager to the Hilly Ghat region emphasises Central Railway's commitment to Passenger Safety and efforts to enhance connectivity. The efforts will bear fruits by providing seamless transportation across South East Ghat," he explained.

"The construction of new catch water drains is underway, further bolstering safety measures. The ongoing process of cleaning existing catch water drains is expected to be completed before the start of the monsoon season," he added.