Union minister of state for railways Suresh Angadi’s balancing act on Chennamma Express

HUBBALLI: Residents of Hubballi and Belagavi have been involved in a tussle over the time of arrival of train No. 16589, Rani Chennamma Express for more than 15 years. The train from Bengaluru reaches Hubballi at 5.35am and Belagavi at 8.25am.
For several years, Belagavi residents have been demanding railway authorities to change the train’s timing so that it reaches Belagavi by 7am. Businessmen and office goers from the city say they are at a disadvantage due to the train reaching the city late in the morning. Their demand has always faced stiff opposition from people of Hubballi.
Union minister of state for railways Suresh Angadi, who had also made a similar demand when he was elected an MP for the first time, is caught between the demands of his constituents and opposition from Hubballi residents. At a meeting held in Belagavi last week, Angadi had promised that the schedule of Rani Chennamma Express would be altered so that it reaches Belagavi between 6 and 7am. His statement was expected to face opposition from Hubballi.
However, Angadi seems to have pleased both the sides by promising another train between Bengaluru and Belagavi on Sunday.
Belagavi District Kannada Sanghatanegala Kriya Samiti president Ashok Chandaragi recalled that the arrival of Rani Chennamma Express at Belagavi by 7am is a long-pending demand of Belagavi residents.
“When Angadi became the MP for the first time in 2004, the public had made this demand and he had written to the railway ministry about it. Later he had repeated the same request in 2008. As soon as he wrote the letter, people of Hubballi had objected to the demand for changing the train’s timing. Whenever such issues arise, elected representatives of Hubballi unite irrespective of party affiliation. But in Belagavi, each party has three-four factions and they never unite. This was another hurdle for Angadi,” he added.
“As he has now become the railway minister, we had hoped that he would lobby for the change in timing of the train. But there was also the fear of facing criticism from Hubballi. By announcing a new train between Bengaluru and Belagavi, he has appeased passengers of both the cities of North Karnataka,” said Chandaragi.
Vasant Ladawa, former president of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Hubballi, recalled that KCCI had opposed Angadi’s demand for changing the train’s timings five – six years ago. “If Rani Chennamma Express reaches Belagavi by 6-7am, then it will pass through Hubballi around 3am, which is an odd time for Hubballi-Dharwad people. We don’t have any other daily express around the same time,” he added.
Ladawa however welcomed the move of running a new train between Belagavi and Bengaluru. “If the timing of Rani Chennamma Express is disturbed, we won’t sit quietly” he added.
New train’s timings
As per Suresh Angadi’s instruction, the South Western Railway headquarter has communicated to its inter-departments to run a daily overnight special express train between Bengaluru and Belagavi from June 29. The train containing 14 conventional coaches will depart Bengaluru at 9pm and reach Belagavi at 7.30am. In the return direction, it will depart Belagavi at 9pm and reach Bengaluru at 7.30am. The train will have limited stoppages at Tumakuru, Arsikere, Davanagere, Haveri, Hubballi and Dharwad.