Passenger trains to run between Bangalore, Mangalore soon

Passenger trains to run between Bangalore, Mangalore soon

Anil Kumar Sastry

Sakleshpur-Subramanya Road track certified safe for passenger services

BANGALORE: A picturesque stretch of the Western Ghats is being opened up by the Railways for passenger travel after a long wait of 13 years.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety (Southern Region) has certified the track between Sakleshpur in Hassan district and Subramanya Road in Dakshina Kannada district as safe for passenger trains. The Hassan-Sakleshpur-Mangalore line will now add to the State's passenger train network. The 55-km stretch, passing through undulating terrain in the Western Ghats, posed many challenges during construction of the new broad gauge line. In his authorisation dated April 12, Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety Pranab Kumar Sen said that he had inspected the stretch on April 10 and 11.

He said that after a speed trial on April 11, above 35 km an hour and at a maximum speed of 40 km an hour, he was satisfied that safety provisions of the Indian Railway Act had been complied with.

Passenger trains on the stretch can now be operated at a maximum speed of 30 km an hour, subject to a temporary speed restriction of 15 km an hour between Shiribagilu and Subramanya Road, owing to the replacement of channel sleepers.

This will help in making train services promised in the Railway Budget become a reality.

The coaches for these express trains have been kept ready, in anticipation of the safety certification. The South Western Railway is now waiting for green signal from the Railway Board to start these new trains. The 2005-06 Budget also proposed to extend the Mangalore-Kabaka Puttur passenger train (daily) up to Shravanabelagola.

The new track will boost connectivity between the State capital and the all-weather port town of Mangalore. It will also benefit people in Kasaragod and Kannur in North Kerala. While the distance from Mangalore to Chennai on Southern Railway route via Palakkad is about 900 km and the running time is 18 hours, it will be only 725 km and 13 hours via Bangalore.