Page 225 - Coffee TB Final 30-3-2023

A LEGACY HOME

which Dr Sreedharan accepted as a challenge at Wide use of precision equipments, heavy

ABIGAIL ADAMS a time when all others had expressed imported machineries, well-chosen contractors,
impracticality of constructing a railway excellence in project planning and execution - all

line in the region. of these were the major factors that contributed

“It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific in early completion of the project. But foremost

station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a For a man who was known to complete projects of all, it was the never-say-die spirit of
against stiff deadlines, the Konkan Railway
vigorous kind are formed in contending with difficulties” Dr E Sreedharan that saw this incredible project
project was a big opportunity to prove the
through.
supremacy of man over Nature. The

construction period of 7 years of Konkan

Railway was entirely spent on leading and

guiding a team to find solutions and implement

A project that took a full Century to unfold and, those solutions on the field. Metre by metre the

when constructed, came to be known as an railway line was constructed and the end of each

'Engineering Marvel' and continues to elicit awe, day was either marked with frenzied jubilation on

could never be expected to have its foundations having successfully completed a difficult task or

and further growth on fragmented and desperation for finding a solution for overcoming

spasmodic leadership. The Konkan Railway a challenge. Shri B Rajaram

project has seen the light of day and continues
Engineering officers used to work day & night. If the construction was led by the legendary
to positively influence the people of the region as Dr E Sreedharan Engineers caught a wink or two at the site itself Dr E Sreedharan, the challenges of train

well as the railways in the country due to the
Dr E Sreedharan, a retired Member (Engg.) of and stayed awake supervising the work. operations were successfully met by his
successive visionaries who have implemented
the Railway Board and Indian Railway Service of Dr Sreedharan would visit sites and interact successors. Shri B Rajaram, who was the
their blueprint of a successful railway over the
Engineers (IRSE) officer, to bring this dream from directly with the junior engineers to know the Chief Engineer and later Director (Project) in
last 25 years.
paper into reality. He had already exhibited his problems being faced at the site. As the Konkan Railway, took over the reins from

While it took persistent efforts by skills with, amongst others, rehabilitation of the Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan Dr Sreedharan in 1998. An M.Tech from

Shri A B Walawalkar, Barrister Nath Pai, famous Pambam Bridge at Rameshwaram, Railway Corporation, his mind was not just busy IIT/Kharagpur, he was involved with

Shri Ramakrishna Hegde, Professor Madhu work of the Kolkata Metro and reviving the in ensuring that the railway line was constructed construction of the railway line from 1990 itself.

Dandavate and by Shri George Fernandes to productivity of Cochin Shipyard Limited. A in stipulated time but also handling the Shri Rajaram kept the spirit of innovation alive

realize the dream of the Konkan Railway line, it railway line along the highly formidable West environmentalists and arranging for finances for even when the train operations commenced and

was finally left to the engineering acumen of Coast of India was a huge task the construction at a time when the interest is credited with invention of a number

rates were very high.