Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge will flag off three trains, including the DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) Service from Thokur to Bhatkal here on Sunday.
The Minister will flag off Mangalore Central-Madgaon daily intercity, Mangalore Central-Kacheguda bi-weekly express besides the DEMU service. According to the Southern Railway train time table, the Mangalore-Kacheguda bi-weekly Express (No. 17606) will leave here on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11.30 a.m. and reach the destination at 3.30 a.m. on Fridays and Mondays (the third day). It will leave as Train No. 17605 on Tuesdays and Fridays from Kacheguda at 6 a.m. and reach here Wednesdays and Saturdays. It will go via Kasaragod, Kanhangad, Payyanur, Kannur, Thalassery, Vadakara, Kozhikode, Shoranur and Palakkad, Coimbatore, Renigunta, Gooty and Dhone.
According to Konkan Railway time table, the Bhatkal-Thokur DEMU service (70105) will leave Bhatkal at 6 a.m. and reach the destination at 9.40 a.m. On its return (70106), it will depart Thokur at 11 a.m. and reach Bhatkal at 2 p.m. The train, running all days except Sunday, will have 12 stoppages.
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The timings of the intercity have already been announced.
The commuters have been demanding the DEMU service be extended to Mangalore Central so that users benefit fully from the service. It was pointed out that the people using the service would like to alight or board the train at Mangalore Junction or Mangalore Central rather than at Thokur, which lacks connectivity.
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“The station neither has a restaurant nor can one hope to get an autorickshaw,” said R.L. Dais of Udupi Yathri Sangha. Whether the Railway Minister responds to the people’s demands remains to be seen.