The originating rail passenger traffic from Mysuru is beginning to see a surge ever since additional trains were introduced to various destinations as part of the graded unlocking.
This was also partly due to the strike by the employees of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
Though the numbers are nowhere near the pre-pandemic levels, there is a significant surge in the passengers travelling by trains, especially on the long-distance trains entailing overnight journey.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Manjunath said that people have started travelling though there was hesitancy in the initial stages after the train services were resumed after the lockdown was announced in the third week of March.
He said the increase is across all trains but there was a perceptible rise in the number of passengers going towards Bengaluru. This is because the bus services were withdrawn owing to the strike, he added. But Mr. Manjunath said by and large people have started resuming their travels and this is reflected in the steady increase in the bookings across most trains. As against 50 pairs of train that used to operate from Mysuru railway station, the authorities have resumed the services of 20 pairs of trains, including the weekly and the bi-weekly services.
Occupancy
The occupancy in the Chamundi Express which departs from Mysuru has remained high ever since its services were resumed a few months ago. As against the passenger carrying capacity of 1,938, 1,168 passengers travelled on Friday and 1,265 passengers on Saturday.
When the MEMU services were resumed last Monday, 53 passengers had boarded the train while 92 passengers had travelled by Tipu Express. But since then the patronage has increased, said the officials.
The passenger occupancy in the Yeshwanthpur Shivamogga Town special was cent percent as all the 972 seats and berths were booked. The Mysuru-Talaguppa Special saw 1,342 passengers booking their berths/seats against the available quota of 1,904. Among the local services, the Mysuru-Chamarajanagar special train carried 1,103 passengers from the city on Saturday against the capacity of 1,739.
