Bangalore-Mangalore passenger trains soon

Bangalore-Mangalore passenger trains soon

Staff Reporter

Safety concerns addressed; trains to start running in June or July



EASY ACCESS: A second battery-operated cart for people with disabilities was introduced at the Bangalore City Railway Station on Tuesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The long-awaited passenger train service between Bangalore and Mangalore is likely to begin in June or July with Railway authorities confident of addressing the safety concerns that threatened to derail the project.

South Western Railway has scheduled passenger trains to start at 8 p.m. from both cities, said Praveen Kumar, general manager, South Western Railway, at a press conference here on Tuesday.

The timetable has been fixed so as to avoid passenger trains and freight trains running simultaneously on the ghats section between Sakleshpur and Subramanya. The Commissioner of Railway Safety had recommended that freight and passenger trains should not run simultaneously due to the steep gradient between these two stations.

Mr. Kumar said, "The stretch between Sakleshpur and Subramanya is a long and difficult section as it is on a continuous gradient. To ensure that no calamity happens, we plan to restrict the speed to 30 km an hour."

"The timings we have proposed will leave us the entire morning to run freight trains," Mr. Kumar said. The proposal is key to the running of trains, as it will make the route financially viable for South Western Railway.

Mr. Kumar termed the recommendation of the Commissioner of Railway Safety an extreme measure because the Railways had adequate safety infrastructure built into the track. "If we followed the precaution, then it would have been a heavy drain on our resources. We run other trains in more severe conditions with fewer restrictions," he said.

The resulting proposal to run freight trains during the day and passenger trains at night is expected to satisfy the safety requirements and make it viable for the Railways.

The Railways plan to run four freight trains and carry at least three to four million tonnes of goods, which include iron ore, coal and liquefied petroleum gas, he said. Since this is a difficult stretch, it will take two and a half hours at 30 km an hour to traverse the ghats section.

On other safety precautions, he said the Railways had identified 12 locations where landslides are likely to happen often and care had been taken to reduce the extent of damage.

Electric cart

Senior citizens and people with disabilities will find it easier to move about at the City Railway Station. On Tuesday, South Western Railway provided a second battery-operated cart to take passengers from one platform to another.

The second cart and will ferry passengers from platforms six to ten. On October 18, the Railways introduced a similar cart on platforms one to five.

The cart is a four-seater and is easy to operate. Maintenance is taken care of revenue from advertisements.

"This is part of our ongoing effort to provide the best services to our customers," said Mr. Kumar.