New Delhi: Konkan Railway will begin work on the 103 kilometre Kolhapur-Vaibhavwadi section soon. Indian Railways will bear 50 percent of the cost and rest will be borne by the government of Maharashtra.


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The decision was taken at a review meeting of Konkan railway chaired by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday.


“It will link the coastal region of Maharashtra with Western Maharashtra, lead to development of ports and harbours in the coastal region and allow flow of goods from the hinterland to the coast,” an official release said.


In the meeting, Suresh Prabhu said that the construction of this line will also facilitate the movement of petroleum from the world’s largest integrated refinery cum petrochemicals complexes being built near Vaibhavwadi in Ratnagiri district, in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The USD 40 billion mega refinery is being built by IOC, BPCL and HPCL and is expected to be commissioned by 2022. It will have a capacity of 60 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA).


Kolhapur-Vaibhavwadi line will facilitate movement of petroleum and petrochemicals from the refinery to the coast, he said.


CMD, Konkan Railway, informed that 10 new stations are also being built along the route. The first station will be inaugurated in January 2019.