Over 1,500 passengers sign petition for Kochuveli-Yeshwantpur train

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Railway passengers have launched a campaign demanding a train between Kochuveli- Yeshwantpur stations. Passengers say the train services should be started before Onam.
More than 1500 passengers have signed a petition which will be sent to prime minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to start the train service.

The train was announced by Union minister of state for railways, Rajen Gohain during his visit to the city on June 9. Though, the passengers' associations had demanded a train service to Bengaluru, the union minister said that it was not possible for Bengaluru station to receive another train from Kerala but added that a proposal for a new train to Yeshwantpur will be considered.

With nearly a month after the assurance, Kerala-Bengaluru Train Users Forum, a group of regular travellers from Bengaluru to Kerala launched a signature campaign for the train.

“It is has been more than three weeks that the railway minister made the announcement of a new train connecting Karnataka and Kerala. We want to reach home for Onam holidays but, in the heavy rush it is difficult to get reservation. And the delay in operation of the existing trains from Bengaluru is another issue,” said Venkitesh PG, secretary of Kerala-Bengaluru Train Users Forum, a native of Ernakulam, working in Bengaluru.

A new Train 22657/22658 connecting Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram was first announced more than four years ago in railway budget 2014-15, but the proposal did not see the light of the day. The saturation of trains at Bengaluru station from Kerala was stated as a reason for the delay in introduction of the train.

According to the representatives of the Forum, several online petitions were filed online stating their grievances and complaints.

There are five-odd trains being operated between Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru. Among these Train no 16315 Bengaluru- Kochuveli Express and Train 16526 Kanyakumari Express depart from Bengaluru on Fridays. Similarly, Train no 16525 Kanyakumari-Bengaluru express and Train no 16316 Kochuveli – Bengaluru Express leaves from Kerala to Bengaluru. Interestingly, the average delay of these trains to reach destination is 25 minutes to 1.5 hour.

Stating the delay of trains being from Bengaluru, Venkatesh added, “The present trains connecting Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram, especially those operated on weekends are depended by thousands of Keralites and even the average waiting list for these reaches 300. But, the delay in operation of these trains is a major issue to regular passengers. It is laxity on the part of railway officials in operation and administrative wing delays a train, as results prevent the opportunity of operating new trains. The operation of a new train in this route will not be a loss to railways.”