This 26 km ghat section rail road connects coastal Goa to the hinterlands of Karnataka and other parts.

[2] The 26 km section of ghats starts at Castle Rock in Karnataka and ends at Kulem in Goa and has 3 stations en route - Caranzol, Doodhsagar and Sonalium.

Both the uphill as well as the downhill trains have commercial halts at Castle Rock and Kulem which also serve as the stations for attachment and detachment of brakes.

The dynamic breaking system installed in the WDG4 locomotives, made them popular and important in this steep section.

Freight consists mostly of iron ore being transported from the interior regions of Karnataka to the ports for export.