Samiti appeals for extension of Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur weekly train to Mangaluru Central

The Paschima Karavali Railway Abhivridhi Samiti, Mangaluru, has appealed to the Southern Railway to extend train number 16539/40 Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur weekly express to Mangaluru Central.

In a letter to the Divisional Railway Manager, Southern Railway, Palakkad, the president of the samiti, Hanumantha Kamath, said that the tri-weekly day train service of train number 16575/76 and the weekly express service of train number 16539/40 operating between Mangaluru Junction and Yeshwantpur provide a very convenient and economical mode of transport for the people of the region to travel between coastal Karnataka and Bengaluru.

Train number 16575/76 was initially planned to operate between Mangaluru Central and Yeshwantpur in 2007. However, due to platform constraints at Mangaluru Central station, it was operated between Mangaluru Junction and Yeshwantpur, much to the disappointment of the people. It was assured at that time by the railway administration that the said train would be extended to Mangaluru Central once platforms four and five were commissioned, the letter said.

Mr. Kamath further said: “Soon after the completion of the fourth and fifth platforms at Mangaluru Central, your good office had proposed the extension of the train to Mangaluru Central vide communication no J/T 454/proposal 2024, February 6, 2024, addressed to CPTM, Southern Railway. However, the said proposal did not materialise.”

He said that it is understood that constraints exist for the extension of the tri-weekly service (Train Number 16575/76) to Mangaluru Central due to the operation of the Mangaluru Central-Rameswaram Express. However, it is noted that on Saturdays and Sundays, there is no stabling or receipt of the Rameswaram-Mangaluru Central Express at Mangaluru Central station. Hence, the weekly train no. 16539/40 can be comfortably accommodated and extended to Mangaluru Central.

“Therefore, we suggest that train number 16539 be received at Mangaluru Central during Saturday evening hours and stabled overnight on the vacant stabling line of the Mangaluru-Rameswaram Express. The following morning on Sunday, the rake can be dispatched as train number 16540 to Yeshwantpur,” he said.

The letter said that keeping the train terminated at Mangaluru Junction, despite subsequent infrastructure upgrades at Mangaluru Central, continues to be a major grievance for the people of the region.