Goa: Incessant rains damage tunnel along Konkan railway; six trains diverted

Incessant rainfall over the past 48 hours has damaged a tunnel along the Konkan railway route in Goa, leading to the diversion of six trains that were en route to and from Kerala.

The six trains have been diverted via the Madgaon-Londa-Miraj-Pune-Panvel line.

Konkan railway officials said the Pernem tunnel, located between Madure station in Maharashtra and Pernem station in Goa, collapsed at 3 am on Thursday that led to the suspension of train services on the route.

No casualties or injuries have been reported.

The rail authorities said an early restoration of the train service is in progress.

The Pernem tunnel, one of the most treacherous tunnels on the Konkan railway route, is also the longest in Goa.

Earlier in the 1990s, six workers had died during the tunnel’s construction.

This was the second rail-related incident that affected rail traffic in and around Goa on consecutive days.

On Wednesday, a landslide had disrupted the movement of a Karnataka-bound train at Castlerock, which is located beyond the state’s border on the Konkan coast.

India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Goa observatory has recorded over 100 millimetres (mm) of rainfall on Wednesday, which is only the second time to have breached the 100-mm mark since 2013.

Large parts of the coastal state have reported flooding, as rivers breached their banks washing away coconut groves, fields, and farms.

However, the IMD forecast has said the intensity of rains would lessen on Thursday.