The Kanyakumari District Rail Users’ Association has urged the Railway Ministry to reroute the Kanyakumari-Sri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra (SVDK)-Kanyakumari Himsagar Weekly Express via Mangaluru Junction and the Konkan Railway network.
In a recent letter to the Ministry, Association Secretary Edward Jeni wrote: ‘This diversion of Train No. 16317/318 would not only reduce the distance and travel from end-to-end, but also provide direct connectivity between Kanyakumari and the Karnataka coast. Moreover, this would fill the void created by the cancellation of Train No. 16687/688 Mangaluru Central-SVDK Navayug Weekly Express during COVID-19 pandemic’.
Mangaluru-based Paschima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath said, “After cancellation of Navayug Express, coastal Karnataka does not have a direct link to Katra in Jammu region.”
