Mumbai-based Konkan Vikas Samithi has opposed demands for amalgamation of Mangaluru-Madgaon and Mumba CSMT-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express services stating that such a move will adversely affect seat availability between Mumbai and Madgaon.
Samithi founder and chairman Jayawant Shankar Darekar wrote to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw that the Samithi, however, has no objection to extending Train No. 20645/20646 Mangaluru Central-Madgaon-Mangaluru Central Vande Bharat Express to Mumbai as a standalone service.
Still better would be the introduction of an Amrit Bharat or Vande Bharat sleeper service between Mangaluru and Mumbai (a distance of 900 km), Mr. Darekar said.
Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel had recently urged the Railway Ministry to amalgamate the VB services as the Mangaluru Central-Madgaon VB express lacks patronage. People in coastal Karnataka want a day train to Mumbai. Amalgamation would be the better option. As an alternative, Mr. Kateel had sought standalone extension of the service to Mumbai on a tri-weekly basis.
Train No. 22229/230 Mumbai CSMT-Madgaon-Mumbai CSMT Vande Bharat Express, Mr. Darekar said, records up to 100% occupancy and is in need of capacity augmentation to a 16-car rake to fulfil the demand in this section. Extending it to Mangaluru would exacerbate the situation, potentially leaving passengers from Mumbai-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg-Goa section without sufficient seats.
But, by extending Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express to Mumbai and strategically adding halts along the route, where the Mumbai-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express does not halt, the Ministry could ensure passengers on both the Mumbai-Goa and Mumbai-Mangaluru sections benefit from an improved service. In the event of amalgamation of the two services, the Ministry should provide source station quota to all stations. Pooled or Remote Location Quota for Mumbai-Madgaon section would reduce seat availability for Khed, Ratnagiri, Kanakavali, and Thivim stations. In such a scenario, a 16-car rake should be operated without disturbing the reservation quota for the Mumbai-Goa section.
Extend Vande Bharat Express to Bandra in western Mumbai
Oliver D’Souza from Mumbai Rail Yatrikara Sangha has demanded extension of the Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express to Bandra in western Mumbai. “Not a single train out of 13 services towards Mangaluru originate in western Mumbai. If the VB could not be extended to Mumbai, the Ministry should introduce a new Amrit Bharat service between Bandra and Mangaluru,” he suggested.
