A large terminal with several facilities is being built between Baiyappanahalli and KR Puram. It will be ready within 18 months.Bengaluru: Two weekly Ernakulam trains which were shifted to Banaswadi will be allowed to stop in Baiyappanahalli, the railways have said. The decision, which comes as relief to Kerala travelers, came after the Karnataka-Kerala Travelers Forum (KKTF) held talks with South West Railway senior divisional manager KV Gopinath and divisional railway manager RS Saxena.
Weekly trains 22607-08 and 12683-84 were shifted to Banaswadi station recently.
KC Venugopal, MP, on Friday explained to south west railway general manager AK Gupta the misery that commuters faced after these trains were shifted to Banaswadi. Gupta told him that steps were afoot to allow a stop for the trains at Baiyappanahalli. He also told the MP that it was being examined whether basic facilities were sufficient to return these trains to Majestic City station.
Venugopal said he would submit a memorandum on the issue to union railway minister Piyush Goyal.
The Baiyappanahalli stop
Saxena explained to KKTF representatives that the main hindrance for allowing long-distance trains to stop at Baiyappanahalli is that the station's platform is not long enough. The station has many connected traveling facilities including Namma Metro. But as of now the platform can receive only 14 bogies.
The platform is being extended. The Ernakulam-Banaswadi train will get a stop once the work got over.
Besides, Uber and Ola taxis will be allowed to operate from the station. Pre-paid autorickshaw counter will also be set up.
New terminal
A large terminal with several facilities is being built between Baiyappanahalli and KR Puram. It will be ready within 18 months. Some reshuffle will follow in the arrival time of trains.
Saxena said the possibilities are low for the extension of the Ernakulam-Banaswadi train to Mysuru via Bengaluru. The reason is that the Mysuru station does not have enough platform facilities to take in additional trains.
New train
The KKTF demanded that the new train from Kochuveli to Mysuru via Bengaluru should run from there on Sundays and Thursdays. The return journey should be on Mondays and Fridays.
The train from Kochuveli should reach Bengaluru by 4 am and Mysuru by 7 am. If it returns from Mysuru by 4 pm and reaches Bengaluru by 7 pm, the office-goers will also benefit.
Hubli train
The KKTF also raised the demand that the weekly Hubli-Kochuveli train via Yaswantapura (12777-78) should be made a daily service. The hindrance to receive this packed train every day at Yaswantpura is that there are not enough platform facilities. However, a new bypass platform is being built now.
Once it is completed, railways will consider converting the train into a daily service. KKTF has also demanded that the train should be scheduled to depart Yaswantpura between 5 pm and 8 pm.
You can speak
Superfast trains 22607-08 and 12683-84 were shifted to Banaswadi ignoring furious protests from Bengaluru Keralites who rely heavily on the service. You can share with Malayala Manorama your comments on the lack of basic facilities at the station and also the hardships faced in reaching your destination. This is an an opportunity to bring to the attention of the authorities the real picture of the gross injustice that the railway ministry has meted out to Keralites alone.
Phone: 080-22867050 (02.00pm to 05.00pm)
email: blrmanorama@gmail.com
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