With the doubling work of the railway line between Solapur-Gadag via Vijayapura under way for over five months, South Western Railway has suspended the services of three passenger trains between Gadag, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, and Solapur.
These trains had been of great help for the poor and lower middle-class citizens.
Solapur has a trade link with Vijayapura as many small businessmen go there to buy raw materials, spare parts of machines, garments, and printing materials.
Solapur also has many super-speciality hospitals where people from Vijayapura usually head to.
For them, the passenger trains provided an economical transport facility.
“But for the last five months, these trains have been stopped which has affected people like us who are regular visitors to Solapur,” said Amir Bandagi, who has a water pump-set repair unit in Vijayapura.
He has to visit Solapur twice a week to buy raw materials or purchase old machines which he repairs here and sells for a higher price.
He said after the suspension of the train services, he has to travel by buses which are proving costly.
Officials, meanwhile, say that they are trying to complete the work as quickly as possible to resume the train services.
“Even we are under tremendous pressure to complete the work and resume the service. Soon, the trains will be back on track,” officials added.