Two new inter-State trains, four local trains to be soon launched from Bangalore

Two express trains and four local trains will start operating from Bangalore soon, said Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

He was speaking after remotely flagging off the ‘Sukhamangalam Yatra’ Tourist Special Train from Yeshwantput here on Saturday. The train will cover, over nine days, pilgrimage spots including Sholapur, Pandharpur, Ajanta-Ellora, Badami and Aihole.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) plans to introduce similar pilgrimage trains on routes that are part of Buddhist, Sikh, Christian and

Chaar Dham circuits.

The two new inter-State trains are the Yeshwantpur-Jodhpur Express and the Yeshwantpur-Katra Express, which will start operating on December 4 and December 11 respectively, and will go through Bangalore City Station.

The Railways will also start four new suburban trains from November 1. They will begin operating from Bangalore to Hubli, Bangalore to Tumkur, Bangalore to Chamarajanagar and Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) – Hosur on Rajyotsava.

He said the aim of introducing local trains from the city to surrounding areas was to decongest the city. They would operate at peak time and benefit regular commuters on those routes, including daily-wage earners such as vegetable sellers. He added that while the four trains would be inaugurated on November 1, plans are on to run trains from Bangalore to Ramanagara and Chickballapur.

The Railways is working towards introducing information technology in the operation of Railways in various ways. This includes enabling passengers to ‘trace trains’ on their mobile phones, wake-up calls on mobile phones and introduction of train services to various cities with pilgrim spots.

While 13,000 coaches have already been fixed with biotoilets, Mr. Gowda said the cleanliness of Railway property could be effective only if people took ownership for it.

He stoutly denied the charge made against him that there was a difference in the declaration of assets made by him before and after the elections.

Mr. Gowda inaugurated Wifi connectivity in Bangalore City Railway Station at the same event.