For the benefit of the general public, the South Western Railway (SWR) has decided to give stoppage at Bettahalasur and Doddajala for the trains operated to Kempegowda International Airport halt station. Sources said that the SWR is likely to deploy its own employees at these two stations to run the counters as there is poor response from private halt agents due to very low revenue.
At present, the SWR is running 12 trains from the city to Devanahalli for the benefit of the air passengers and people working at various units at KIA. However, patronage has still remained very poor.
Divisional Railway Manager (Bengaluru division) Shyam Singh said the punctual running of these services to the airport is accorded the highest priority.
“Recently, there were instances of a little delay in the services to KIAD halt station due to ongoing safety-related works between Yelahanka and Devanahalli. Within a short period of 3 weeks, these works are targeted for completion which will improve punctuality to a great extent. The timings of the MEMU and DEMU services to the airport as well as stoppages can also be obtained from National Train Enquiry System (NTES) website,” he said.
The official added that the ticket fare is just ₹30 for a trip, which is considerably cheap compared to other modes of transport.
“Trains to KIAD station provide an economical and efficient mode of transport to business commuters and is environment friendly as it supports the Railways’ initiative in reducing the carbon footprint. Passengers are requested to make full use of these train services.” He added that an increase in frequency as well as the extension of train services to the Airport will be explored based on the patronage of existing train services in the coming days.
