Braganza Ghats

The Braganza Ghats are a 26 km railway section through the Western Ghats on the Karnataka-Goa border, running from Castle Rock in Karnataka to Kulem in Goa. Before the Konkan Railway this was the only rail route into Goa. Three stations lie along the way, Caranzol, Doodhsagar and Sonaulim, though trains make no commercial halts there.

The section owes its fame to the Dudhsagar Falls, or Sea of Milk, midway along the ghat. The spot is linked only by the railway, and the falls form a high backdrop to trains passing directly in front. This is also one of the toughest stretches on Indian Railways, with a ruling gradient of 1 in 37 that calls for banker locomotives. Descending trains must stop at all three stations for brake tests, and much of the freight is iron ore from the interior of Karnataka, bound for export.