The Southern Railway, not to disprove allegations of step-motherly treatment towards Mangaluru and Karnataka, has again rejected demands from the Karnataka coastal people to extend three popular trains to Mangaluru Central even after two additional platforms are ready for operation.
Passenger associations and the general public have long been demanding extension of train no. 12133/134 Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus-Mangaluru Junction-Mumbai CSTM superfast, train no. 16575/576 Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur Gomateshwara tri-weekly, train no. 16539/546 Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur weekly and train no. 07337/338 Vijayapura-Mangaluru Junction-Vijayapura daily special express trains to Mangaluru Central. The SR, however, had been citing platform constraints whenever such demands were made, to reject the same.
Platform constraints
Responding to demands by Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP; Souther Railway General Manager R.N. Singh recently wrote back to the MP rejecting all the demands, citing again, platform and stabling line constraints. This is despite two additional platforms are getting ready for operation at Mangaluru Central shortly.
Mr. Singh said bringing the Gomateshwara Express as well as the Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction Weekly Express to Central after their arrival at Mangaluru Junction at 4.40 p.m. is seriously hampered by multiple peak-time arrivals and departures, cross movements, and paucity of platforms in the evening peak hours. The General Manager said the Vijayapura Express and the Mumbai CSTM superfast Express have 2.10 hours and 55 minutes lie-over time at Mangaluru Junction and therefore cannot be brought to Mangaluru Central.
New PFs not for others
Taking serious objections to the GM’s stand, Pashchima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath said the new platforms were not constructed for Kerala-bound trains.
As the Southern Railway had always been citing platform constraints as the reasons to deny trains towards Bengaluru and Mumbai, Mr. Kateel personally got the platforms sanctioned from the Railway Minister. Mr. Kamath too had gone to the Ministry with Mr. Kateel to get the work done, he noted.
Mr. Kamath told The Hindu that the South Western Railway was prepared to advance the arrival of Vijayapura Express at Mangaluru Junction by 1.30 hours, following which, the train could be received at Mangaluru Central. Regarding CSTM Express, he said the train is always running late and its timetable should suitably be changed. There is a visible constraint to extending the Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction trains to Central, he added.
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