The infrastructure of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited is over 25 years old, requiring major capital renewal to ensure traffic safety, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.

Vaishnaw said replacing infrastructure requires significant capital expenditure and KRCL’s five shareholders – the Ministry of Railways, the Government of Maharashtra, the Government of Karnataka, the Government of Goa and the Government of Kerala – have been approached by the Ministry of Railways to contribute towards the capital expenditure or to forfeit their share in favor of the ministry.

The minister responded to questions posed by BJP MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, who wanted to know the status of the Konkan Railway merger.

“There are five shareholders in Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), namely the Ministry of Railways, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Karnataka, Government of Goa and Government of Kerala,” Vaishnaw said.

“KRCL’s infrastructure is over 25 years old, requiring major capital renewal/replacement to ensure traffic safety, including doubling and rehabilitation of tunnels. This requires significant investments,” he added.

According to Vaishnaw, to meet the capital expenditure, all the above shareholder state governments have been approached by the Ministry of Railways to contribute towards the capital expenditure of KRCL as per their share or to waive their share in favor of the Ministry of Railways.