BENGALURU: Passengers travelling to and from Bengaluru have been complaining about frequent train delays.
For instance, the 22680 Hassan-Yeshwantpur train, which was scheduled to reach Yeshwantpur at 10.10am on Thursday, was delayed by 51 minutes and arrived only at 11:01am. On Friday, the train was late by 32 minutes.
While South Western Railway (SWR) officials said some trains are getting delayed because of congestion and non-availability of platforms at KSR Bengaluru City and Yeshwantpur stations, passengers cite the yet-to-be inaugurated Sir M Visvesvaraya (Sir MV) terminal at Byappanahalli as the solution.
On the delay of 22680 Hassan-Yeshwantpur intercity superfast express, a railway official said trains are getting delayed between Chikkabanavara and Yeshwantpur.
Shashank, a passenger, said: “SWR should maintain the punctuality of Hassan-Yeshwantpur train for the benefit of Hassan passengers. Many have stopped relying on it because of frequent delays.”
Another passenger said: “Mysuru-Kochuveli Express takes 1 hour and 35 mins to cover 12km from Kengeri to KSR Bengaluru City. One can cover the same distance on foot in less than 1.5 hours!”
Bengaluru divisional railway manager Shyam Singh was unavailable for comments.
KN Krishna Prasad, founder-member of Karnataka Railway Vedike, said: “Opening Sir MV terminal will help decongest Yeshwantpur, but it is not being inaugurated even though it has been ready since March 2021. Several east-bound trains (Howrah) could shift to the new terminal.”
He said many trains are delayed at Yeshwantpur because of the crisscrossing of goods trains.
Track availability
Kiran, another passenger, said: “The main problem is congestion and non-availability of tracks at Yeshwantpur station. Sir MV railway terminal would have taken some load off Yeshwantpur and reduced congestion. But railways doesn’t seem to be interested in opening it soon.”
Many passengers said trains like 17211 Kondaveedu Express (Machilipatnam-Yeshwantpur), Yeshwantpur-Hazrat Nizamuddin (Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express), Golgumbaz Express (16535 Mysuru-Solapur Junction), 06292 Kuppam-KSR Bengaluru, 16596 Karwar-KSR Bengaluru City, 17236 Nagercoil-KSR Bengaluru, 16217 Mysuru-Sainagar Shirdi, 11311 Solapur-Hassan Express, and 07316 Salem- Yeshwantpur are often delayed.
