Mangalore - Bangalore train will not enter Mangalore Central

Mangalore - Bangalore train will not enter Mangalore Central

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, April 20, 2011: Preparations are on to extend the Mangalore – Bangalore day train to Karwar, but the train will not longer arrive at Mangalore Central Station, Attavar. Instead, it will arrive into Junction Station at Kankanady, before leaving for Karwar and will take the same route back to Bangalore.

In response to demands for the extension of the Mangalore – Bangalore night train to Karwar, Union Railway Minister Mamatha Bannerji had announced during the last railway budget that the day train will be extended.

Accordingly, the train will arrive into Kankanady Station and leave from there, which means that the Central Station will no longer see this train. Several technical factors such as non-availability of tracks are responsible for this move. Only three railway tracks lead into the Central Station and they are used by other trains after 10:00 a.m., owing to which the extended train cannot use these tracks. The only solution to this problem seems to be laying additional tracks, but this means years of land acquisition, project study, sanctioning funds, calling for tender, construction, and so on.

Sources say that orders from higher authorities specifically prevent trains to be allowed into Central Station from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., sealing the fate of the extended train forever. Moreover, it will take 40 minutes for the extended train to chug into Central Station and leave, and the railway officials want to save this time.

Previously, the extension of this train was delayed owing to lack of terminus and shunting facility to return the train from Karwar. The train might be extended to Margao because of this problem.

Meanwhile, railway users associations have accused the elected representatives of failure to perform their duties. Some of them want the train to be converted into a superfast, which can leave Karwar at 4:00 a.m. and reach Bangalore at 7:00 p.m. People would not have complained if the station at Kankanady was in good shape, but the place lacks bus facility and auto drivers charge exorbitantly. Moreover, the roads connecting the Junction Station are in a terrible condition.

The extended service will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. It will depart from Karwar at 5:30 a.m. and arrive at Junction Station at 10:55 a.m., after which its engine will be changed before it leaves for Yeshwantpur at 11:15 a.m. The train is scheduled to arrive at Yeshwantpur at 10:45 p.m.

The train will start its return journey from Yeshwantpur on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It will depart from Yeshwantpur at 7:30 a.m. and will arrive into Junction Station at 5:45 p.m.  and will depart from Junction Station at 6:05 p.m. and arrive at Karwar at 11:00 p.m.