Why can’t the Railways operate special trains between Bengaluru and Mangaluru to provide relief to passengers in view of the closure of Shiradi Ghat Road, the main connecting route between the two cities?
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy of the High Court of Karnataka posed this question to counsel for the Railways during the hearing of a PIL that narrated the plight of people commuting between the two cities.
“You [Railways] operate so many special trains, like Dasara, summer, winter and in many other names. Why can’t you provide special trains on this stretch to ease traffic,” the Bench asked, while pointing out that it could take another six months to complete repair of the Shiradi Ghat section.
The petitioners, Latha Ramesh and S. Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, had pointed out that introducing additional daily trains between the two cities would be the best available solution when road transport is adversely effected, but the governments and the Railways have not come forward to run train services, both passenger and goods.
