Karwar train on diverted route cancelled

Mangalore Today News Network

Karwar, Aug 29 2018: The South Western Railway has cancelled the only available train service between Bengaluru and Karwar that was being operated via Tirupathur, Palakkad and Shoranur till September 1.

Consequently, the disconnection of the coast with the hinterland following the closure of Shiradi and Sampaje ghat roads has only amplified with people finding it extremely difficult to commute between these places.

Bengaluru-Karwar-Kannur services that were running via Shravanabelagola four days a week and via Mysuru three days a week were operating on the diverted route after several landslips on the Shiradi Ghat stretch. The South Western Railway has cancelled the tri-weekly day train services between Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction and Yeshwantpur-Karwar owing to the same reason.

South Western Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer E. Vijaya told The Hindu that the zone was prepared to operate the services, though it entailed about a 500-km and five-hour extra journey. However, the Southern Railway, the network on which the diverted train traverses for major part of the journey, has said that it would not be able to accommodate the train.

She said that Southern Railway was facing shortage of crew as well as path in the aftermath of floods in Kerala. Though the trains were running on the diverted route, they had good occupancy rate as road networks remained severed, Ms. Vijaya said.

Southern Railway’s Chief Operations Manager S. Anantharaman told The Hindu that half of the crew in Kerala were in relief camps and hence, the zone was unable to provide the required crew to operate the diverted trains. Once they come back, say within a week, Southern Railway could accommodate the trains, he said.

Irregular services

Sources in Mangaluru Railway region said that the trains were running almost 24 hours behind schedule after the diversion thereby bringing down the occupancy rate drastically. The South Western Railway could have deployed an additional rake or operated a slip service between Karwar and Mangaluru to bridge the gap.

Run via Madgaon

West Coast Rail Yatri Abhivriddhi Sangha advisor Anil Hegde said that the South Western Railway should operate the trains via Hubballi and Madgaon in the interest of the general public. In the initial days itself, National Railway Users Consultative Council Member Kunjal Venkatesh Kini had made this demand. Ms. Vijaya, however, said that the Dudhsagar Ghat stretch too was witnessing landslips and hence, the trains were not diverted on that route.

Courtesy: The hindu