Southern Railway General Manager John Thomas on Tuesday said that more trains can be introduced from Mangaluru Central and some trains operating out of Mangaluru Junction to other parts of Karnataka and Mumbai may be brought once the work on two new platforms is completed at Mangaluru Central.
Interacting with media persons during his inspection of railway installations in Mangaluru region, Mr. Thomas was responding to demands from Paschima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi in this regard. He said that the existing pit-lines were demolished and new ones are being constructed on the Attavar-side of Mangaluru Central.
The new platforms (4 and 5) will come up in the space where the old pit-lines existed, he said and added that the introduction of more trains from Mangaluru Central could be possible after the next monsoon. Mr. Thomas said that Mangaluru Railway region is one of the highest revenue earning regions of the zone. Southern Railway is committed to providing all the required facilities and amenities at Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction.
The General Manager refuted a suggestion that the zone was neglecting the region and using it mainly to cater to Kerala-bound trains. He said that the Railways has been a pan-India organisation and does not discriminate between regions. People in the region should not feel being discriminated against, he added.
Meanwhile, the samithi submitted a list of demands for railway facilities in Mangaluru. The demands included hastening the construction of new pit-lines and platforms at Mangaluru Central, shifting the existing goods shed from Bunder to Ullal to avoid frequent closure of level crossing gates at Pandeshwar and Hoige Bazaar, extension of two services of Mangaluru-Puttur-Mangaluru Passenger train up to Subrahmanya Road; extension of Train Nos 07377/07378 Vijayapura-Mangaluru Junction-Vijayapura Special Express to Mangaluru Central, extension of Train Nos 16575/16576 Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur Tri-weekly Express to Mangaluru Central with revised timings; extending Train Nos 12133/12134 Mumbai CSMT-Mangaluru Junction-Mumbai CSMT Superfast Express to Mangaluru Central and resuming Train No 56661 Charavattur-Mangaluru Central Passenger train for the benefit of students.
Mr. Thomas said that he will consider the demands depending upon their feasibility.
Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath, technical adviser Anil Hegde, DRUCC Member Ahmed Bava and member G.K. Bhat were present.