In view of the two major festivals, Dasara followed by Diwali, during October and early November, the Presidents Council, Belagavi Chamber of Commerce and Industries has urged South Western Railways to operate Suvidha trains on certain routes to ease the festival rush.
The council members, who met the Divisional Commercial Manager Rajappa S.R. at the Belagavi railway station here on Sunday, told reporters that recent developments in various sectors in and around the city had increased flow of common migrating population in the city, majority of whom were dependent on railways to travel long distances to cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Puducherry, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, New Delhi.
The council members said though Belagavi is connected by rail to these cities, the number of trains operating through the city was not able to accommodate the growing rush for travel by train during the festival season. The SWR could run Suvidha trains during the festival season commencing from October 7 to first week of November via Belagavi city from Yeshwantpur to Bikaner/Ahmedabad, Pune to Ernakulam, Chennai to Miraj, Hubballi to Mumbai both onward and return journeys. The council members also submitted a possible dates on which the SWR could operate these trains for the convenience of the commuters.