Rescheduling of the Yeshwantpur-Karwar-Yeshwantpur tri-weekly day train (16515/516) on Wednesday and Thursday respectively following Tuesday’s landslide at Shiradi Ghat has shown that the distance between Bengaluru and Karwar can be covered in 13 hours.
This has given boost to the demand of people travelling between Bengaluru and Karwar to reroute the Bengaluru-Karwar/Kannur night express, which takes 17 hours, via the newly commissioned Bengaluru-Hassan line.
Tuesday’s Karwar-Yeshwantpur Express, which was supposed to reach Yeshwantpur at 8.30 p.m., arrived over 12 hours late following its diversion via Palakkad and Salem because of the landslide. Consequently, it departed Yeshwantpur at 8.30 p.m. instead of 7.10 a.m.
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Awaiting clearance
The train reached Mangaluru Junction at 6.10 a.m. on Thursday, but had to wait for an hour to get clearance from Konkan Railway to proceed towards Karwar.
It reached Udupi at 8.24 a.m. while the Bengaluru-Karwar night express’ (via Mysuru) arrival time at Udupi is 10.41 a.m., though it leaves Bengaluru at 8.30 p.m.
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Reaching Karwar at noon, the Yeshwantpur Express commenced the return journey at 12.33 p.m. to reach Mangaluru Junction at 5.20 p.m. As per the National Train Inquiry System, the train reached Yeshwantpur at 3.30 a.m. on Friday; a journey of 15 hours from Karwar to Yeshwantpur.
The journey could have been completed in 13 hours if the train was not delayed by more than one-and-a-half hours between Surathkal and Mangaluru Junction and Mangaluru Junction and Subrahmanya Road Stations.
Gautam Shetty, a native of Kundapur working in Bengaluru, said the development has shown that a train on the shortest route could complete the journey between Bengaluru and Karwar within 13 hours, which passengers have long been asking for.
Running the service via Kunigal instead of Mysuru (present route of night express) eliminates engine reversal at Mysuru and Hassan, thereby saving over 1.30 hours, he pointed out.
The reduced distance, by nearly 100 km, from 760 km to 666 km, via the new route would again curtail journey hours, Mr. Shetty noted. However, the train has to skirt Mangaluru Central and move directly via Mangaluru Junction to save more time, he added.