SWR to resume 26 train services soon

The South Western Railway will resume 26 train services as part of the graded unlocking in accordance with the directions of the Railway Board.

The normal services of trains listed in the time table have remained suspended from the third week of March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only a limited number of trains are operating across the country.

But officials in the SWR said they have received a communique to submit the detailed timings of the proposed 26 services that not only have intra-State route but are long-distance services connecting other States as well.

The SWR used to run nearly 330 trains per day during the pre-COVID time and it is only now that the authorities have started resuming some of the services based on the pandemic situation and the demand for passenger service.

Some of the services to be re-introduced within a few days include Bengaluru City-Dharwad superfast Intercity Express, Yeshwanthpur-Nizamuddin Superfast Express, Chamarajanagar-Tirupati Express, Bengaluru-Miraj Express, Bengaluru-Nanded Express, Mysuru-Bengaluru Express, Bengaluru-Mangaluru Central Express, Yeshwanthpur-Hassan Express, Hubballi-Bellary Express, Dharwar-Solapur Express, Vascodagama-Kulem Express, and Yeshwanthpur-Hosur MEMU Express special.

Sources in the SWR said this is in addition to the existing trains being operated by the railways though the passenger occupancy in some of them is “far from satisfactory’’.