Mangalore: A Dream Too Far - Karwar Train Won't Enter Central Station!
Mangalore, Apr 20 (7-50 am): If the people of this region celebrated the announcement of the extension of the daytime train from Bangalore to Mangalore up to Karwar, they are in for a shock.
Preparations are on for the new extended service. But the train will not chug into the Mangalore Central station at Attavar end. It will arrive at Mangalore Junction (formerly Kankanady) and leave direct for Karwar and ply on the same route on its way back.
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the people of the region have been agitating for the extension of the night train up to Karwar for many years, union railway minister Mamta Bannerji had announced in her last budget that the day train would be extended.
Accordingly, ground work is being done for the extension. According to the plan and time-table, the train will arrive at the Junction station and leave from there on either way. The Central station will not see this train any more.
Technical reasons have been proffered for this move. Non-availability of tracks - an easy pretext any part of the day or night - is the main problem, say the officials. There are only three tracks leading to the Central railway station. After 10 am, it is being used by some train or other, which leaves no scope for any other train to operate.
What is the way out? Laying out additional tracks, maybe. But that is going to be another story. Land acquisition, project study, sanction, tender, construction and so on may entail another ten years.
It is reliably learnt that there are orders from 'above' - where else, but Palghat division - that no more trains be allowed into the Central station tracks between 10 am and 3 pm. That seals the fate.
Besides, the process of moving the train into the Central and chugging it back would take a minimum of 40 minutes. The officials are keen on cutting down the time factor.
As already reported, earlier, the extension up to Karwar was being delayed with the excuse that there was no terminus and shunting facility for return train in Karwar. For this reason, say railway sources, that the same train may be extended from Karwar further up to Margao.
Railway-users' associations are furious. Some say that our elected representatives at the union level are not doing their job properly. A few others want the train to be converted into a superfast service, leaving Karwar at 4 am and reaching Bangalore at 7 pm.
This would give enough breathing space to enter Central station here and leave immediately. The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) feels that it is proof to the contempt the railway authorities have for the people of the region.
There would not have been many complaints if the Junction (Kankanady) station had proper infrastructure. The place is in total neglect. The connecting roads are in bad shape. Bus facility is not convenient. About the auto drivers charging high fare, the less said the better.
The city residents will have a tough time carting their bag and baggage from homes to the Junction station. Besides, If the train reaches Yeshwantpur at that part of the night, the plight of passengers in getting transport like autos and buses can very well be imagined.
According to the new time-table, the following will be the timings, with all 14 compartments running between the two points.
Operating days - Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Departure from Karwar 5-30 am
Arrival at Mangalore Junction 10-55 am
Change of engine and departure for Yeshwantpur 11-15 am
Arrival at Yeshwantpur 10-45 pm
Return journey - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Departure from Yeshwantpur 7-30 am
Arrival at Mangalore Junction 5-45 pm
Departure 6-05 pm
Arrival at Karwar 11 pm
No one knows in what way the new extended service is going to benefit a majority of the passengers.