Shifting of the terminal station of Yeshwantpur-Kannur/Karwar-Yeshwantpur Express (train nos. 16517/18 and 16523/24) from Yeshwantpur to Bangalore City with effect from August 15, will extend its journey hours by almost one hour instead of reducing it.
Upon shifting to Bangalore City, train nos. 16517 and 16523 will depart at 8 p.m. to reach Mangalore Central at 8.40 a.m. the next day. Till August 15, they depart Bangalore City at 8.55 pm and reach Mangalore Central at 8.40 am. While the departure timing is advanced, there is no advancement in the arrival time. There is no change in the departure timing at Mangalore Central and arrival timing at Bangalore City (8.55 p.m. and 8.20 a.m. respectively) either.
Operational constraints and confusion among Kannur-bound passengers has made the South Western Railway (SWR) to change the terminal station of these trains.
The decision was taken due to operational reasons, said SWR’s Bangalore Divisional Railway Manager A.K. Agarwal. The Yeshwantpur station has become congested resulting in delays while shunting locomotives. Though Bangalore City Station too is congested, operations could be managed, he said.
Mr. Agarwal told The Hindu that the other reason to shift the terminal was almost simultaneous departure of two trains towards Kannur that caused confusion among passengers.
While train no. 16527 that reaches Kannur via Banaswadi, Hosur, Salem and Palakkad departs Yeshwantpur at 8 p.m, train No. 16517 that reaches Kannur via Mysore and Mangalore departs at 8.35 pm. There were many instances of passengers boarding the wrong train and hence the decision, he said.
CongestionAnother senior officer at the Bangalore Division said that due to congestion at Yeshwantpur, the SWR is in the process of shifting terminal stations of five other trains to Bangalore Cantonment initially.
Once the Byappanahalli Terminal is ready, those trains along with some other, would be shifted to the new Terminal, he said.
Expressing dismay over the extended journey hours, G. Hanumanth Kamath, President of Paschima Karavali Railway Abhivriddhi Samiti urged the SWR authorities to drastically reduce the travel time.
Otherwise, shifting of the terminal station would have no meaning, he said.
