B’lore’s own Shatabdi service to Chennai

B’lore’s own Shatabdi service to Chennai
Deccan Herald

The railways has provided people of the State with many facilities and new services, said Union Minister R Velu, terming it as a ‘Dasara gift’.

A Shatabdi Express service between Bangalore and Chennai was flagged off on Thursday morning by Union Minister of State for Railways R Velu.

The train departs at 6 am from Bangalore and will reach Chennai at 11 am. The South Western Railway is already running a Shatabdi express from Chennai to Mysore with a halt in Bangalore. However, the new train will help passengers from Bangalore to reach Chennai early. On its return, the train will depart Chennai Central at 5:30 pm and reach Bangalore at 10:30 pm. The six-coach fully air conditioned train will run for six days in a week, barring Tuesdays. The fare is Rs 990 for executive class and Rs 505 for A/C chair car.

The passenger friendly features on-board the train include individual reading light for executive chair car passengers, mobile phone charging facility in all coaches, fragrant ambience in all coaches with on-board “microburst system”.

‘Dasara gift’

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Velu said the new train was a ‘Dasara gift’ for the people of the State and more facilities would be added in the coming days to provide better comfort to the passengers. These include reduction in running time, laptop with internet facilities on demand and auto announcement on station approach.

He said the Hassan-Shravanabelagola line would be completed by December this year, in time for the Mahamastakabisheka festivities. All pending projects including double lining of Bangalore-Mysore railway section will be completed on a time-bound basis. He said Rs 250 crore has been earmarked for upgradation of railway stations, including Bangalore City and Cantonment stations, in the State. An additional platform will soon be built at the Yeshwanthpur railway station.