K Venkatesh Kini, member of National Railway Users Consultative Council (NRUCC) of the Railway Board, has urged the South Western Railways to reroute the Bengaluru-Karwar night express train via the newly commissioned Bengaluru-Hassan railway line.
In a letter to the South Western Railway’s general manager, Kini said that the route of Train No 16524 should be changed to Karwar - Mangaluru Junction - Hassan - Sharavanabelagola - Bengaluru - Mysuru.
“This will eliminate need for engine reversal at Hassan and Mysuru, which will save 90 minutes and also cut down the overall distance of 100 km and 120 minutes of the journey time. At present, Train No 16523/ 524 takes 18 hours, covering a distance of about 760 km on a circuitous route via Mysuru, instead of the shortest distance of 666 km and a journey hour of less than 13 hours,” Kini said.
“Almost all the districts of Karnataka with train connectivity, have faster overnight trains to enable the public to reach Bengaluru conveniently. However, a convenient connectivity is not available for Coastal Karnataka,” he said.
If the train is operated on the shortest route, it will benefit the public to travel between the coast and the state capital faster. Kini pointed out that the Zonal RUCC of SWR had discussed the issue and agreed to the proposal of diverting the route of the train via Shravanabelagola. However, the proposal could not make any headway as one of the DRUCC member representing Mysuru had opposed the proposal on grounds that route diversion will cut the connectivity between Mysuru and Coastal Karnataka, as there is no train service between Mangaluru and Mysuru except the train in question.
In this light, he suggested that the train could be started from Mysuru instead of Bengaluru as at present and run via Bengaluru, Shravanabelagola and Hassan. This revision would eliminate reversal of train engines at Mysuru and Hassan, thereby saving 90 minutes. The Railways may introduce a slip coach attached to Mysuru-Dharwad Express by suitably modifying the timings to cater to the passengers between Mysuru and Hassan.
Besides rerouting the train, the Railways should also detach the Bengaluru-Karwar Express from Bengaluru-Kannur Express (No 16517) at Mangaluru Junction itself to save another 45 minutes of entry and exit to and from Mangaluru Central Railway Station. This change in route will save a valuable of four hours and 15 minutes, Kini suggested.
The reschedule of the train will enable passengers to reach Bengaluru early in the morning. As a result a large portion of bus and air travellers will be diverted to the railways, he added.
DH News Service