The popular demand for a passenger-friendly timetable for the Vijayapura-Mangaluru Junction-Vijayapura Express Special, a service connecting coastal Karnataka with Kalyana Karnataka, has been turned down by Southern Railway.
Sanjeev Kishore, general manager of South Western Railway (SWR), recently wrote to G.M. Siddeshwar, Davangere MP, that Southern Railway had intimated the zone that the proposal for early arrival of Vijayapura-Mangaluru Junction Service at Mangaluru (9.30 a.m.) and its delayed departure (5.30 p.m.) from Mangaluru Junction towards Vijayapura was not feasible.
Southern Railway informed SWR that both the timings are peak hours when platforms at Mangaluru Junction would be occupied by other trains. Hence, the proposed revision of timings was not feasible at this juncture, Southern Railway said. Mangaluru Junction is under the jurisdiction of the Southern Railway while Vijayapura is under SWR.
Besides Mr. Siddeshwar, Nalin Kumar Kateel, Dakshina Kannada MP, too had written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav seeking timetable revision saying it was inconvenient to passengers.
Introduced in November 2019, Vijayapura-Mangaluru Junction Tatkal Special (Train No. 07327) was leaving Vijayapura at 6 p.m. to reach Mangaluru Junction at 12.40 p.m. via Bagalkot, Hubballi, Davangere, and Hassan. Train No. 07328, Mangaluru Junction-Vijayapura Tatkal Express Special used to leave at 4.30 p.m. to reach Vijayapura at 11.45 a.m.
As the services connected the coastal region with Bombay Karnataka and Kalyana Karnataka, the public had been demanding its reintroduction once the government eased COVID-19 restrictions. They also wanted revision of train’s arrival and departure timings in Mangaluru on the ground that they were inconvenient.
Responding to Southern Railway’s refusal for timing revision, Mysuru Division’s Railway Users’ Consultative Committee member Rohith Jain from Davangere said: “Southern Railway has again proven that it is not working for the interest of people of Karnataka.”
Rail activist Gopalakrishna Bhat from Mangaluru said this was the precise reason people in the coast are demanding merger of Mangaluru railway region with SWR. He alleged Southern Railway never bothered to serve the people of Karnataka and instead focused on Kerala and Tamil Nadu from Mangaluru.
