In Goa there are two rail tracks, the Konkan railway line North to South and the South Western railway line West to East. They cross at the most important junction of the state; the Madgaon railway station where every train running through Goa has a halt. Vasco da Gama is the other important railway station of Goa from where the South Western railway operates.

The South Western Railway track was constructed in the 19th century by the Portuguese. It links the port town of Vasco da Gama to Karnataka after passing through Madgaon and running east cutting through the Forest Mountains of the Western Ghats. At Karnataka it connects to the national railway network at the Londa junction from where one can catch trains to go to other parts of India like Bangalore, Hospet, Hyderabad and Kolhapur.

The daily Goa Express is the main train from Vasco that goes to New Delhi via Pune. Other trains that connect cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Vijayawada pass right over the Dudhsagar Waterfalls in the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and run two to three times a week.

The importance of this line that was Goa's only rail link to the outside world for over 100 years has reduced after 1998 when the Konkan Railway line was commissioned.

In July 1990 the Indian government formed the Konkan Railway Co-operation Ltd KRCL. KRCL headed by an outstanding railway engineer known as E. Sreedharan completed the project in just seven years. However over a hundred workers lost their lives in building the railway and their names can be seen on a black granite obelisk called 'Shramata Smarak' outside the Ratnagiri station.

On January 26, 1998 the 50th year of Indian independence the Konkan Railway was thrown open to the public. One can now reach Mumbai in just 8 hours. The Mandovi Exp and Konkan Kanya Exp are two popular Konkan Railway trains that connect Goa to Mumbai daily. The fastest train from Goa to Delhi or Goa to Kerala is the Trivandrum Rajdhani. Also Goa Sampark Kranti which runs non- stop to Delhi from Madgaon every Tuesday at ordinary fares is a nice train. The main train stations in Goa are situated at Pernem, Tivim, Karmali, Madgaon, Vasco and Canacona.