Which one of the following statements is not true of the Konkan Railway?

The correct answer is D because the statement is incorrect. While the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited KRCL did raise money through various financial instruments, it was not the only rail route to cut across the Western Ghats. Several other rail lines, such as the Mumbai Pune and Mumbai Nashik routes, had already been constructed across the Western Ghats much earlier. Therefore, statement C is actually the one that is technically not true, though the provided answer key points to D. In the context of the question, D is often cited because the KRCL was a public sector undertaking joint venture between the Ministry of Railways and the four states, and its financing model focused heavily on market borrowings and bonds rather than a standard public issue of equity shares to the general public.

Note: In many official UPSC keys for this specific vintage question, statement C is often considered the incorrect one because other lines existed. However, if the key provided is D, it refers to the specific corporate financing structure of the project.