Bengaluru: The recent conversion of a train from Marikuppam to the city to a MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) led to a spontaneous “rail roko” by daily commuters travelling from Kolar to Bengaluru at the Marikuppam Railway station early Thursday morning. "Around 15,000 people journey all the way from Marikuppam on this train every day either to work or study in Bengaluru. The conventional train had only 20 coaches and so was congested. Now things have worsened as with the conversion to MEMU, we have only 12 coaches left," said Mr Krishna Prasad, a member of the Karnataka Railway Vedike. The protest went on for one- and- a- half hours, with the commuters raising slogan like, 'We want Swarna', referring to the name of the conventional train they were used to. The police, which found it hard to control the crowd on the tracks, did a mild lathicharge to disperse it.
Protesting commuters said the train was always congested as its timings were perfect for office-goers, allowing them to get to Whitefield at 8:04 am, KR Puram at 8:21 am and Baiyappanahalli at 8:29 am. “It is a good option during peak hours. But the conversion has made matters worse,” they lamented. Responding to the protest, South Western Railway reversed its decision for two services on Thursday. An official statement by its Chief Public Relations Officer, Vijaya read," Train Nos.56507/56508 Marikuppam – KSR Bengaluru – Marikuppam Passenger and 56511 / 56512 Bangarpet – Marikuppam – Bangarpet Passenger will run with conventional rakes consisting of 19 coaches.”
