Passengers annoyed as Railways refuse to divert B’luru-Kwr train to new route

Karwar/Bengaluru/Mangaluru: Passengers in coastal areas are annoyed as the South Western Railway (SWR) has not agreed to run the Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Karwar night express train via the newly commissioned Bengaluru-Hassan line.

The Bengaluru-Hassan line was inaugurated last month and is said to reduce travel time between the coastal cities and the state capital.

Acting on a writ petition filed by a member of the West Coast Rail Yatri Abhivriddhi Sangha, the High Court had directed the South Western Railway in February to consider diverting the train to the shorter route.

The Sangha’s vice-president Rajeev Gaonkar, as directed by the court, attended the SWR’s meeting last month, but he said that the officials were still in the process of seeking passengers’ opinion on diverting the train.

He also opined that the Railways could extend the train to Madgaon, thus connecting Mysuru and Goa, two tourist destinations.

Meanwhile, the sangha has set the deadline to April 14 and would then approach the High Court which has assured to look into the matter.