Bengaluru: Once again this month, rail beku turned into rail roko. Commuters, angry over suburban trains running late, resorted to a flash strike. Office-goers sat on the tracks at the Byyappanahalli railway station, protesting against a train on the Yeshwanthpur-Hosur line running late.
When the train did reach Byyappanahalli at 7.53 am, hundreds of frustrated commuters stood on the tracks and blocked the train, which was headed to Bellandur, for two hours.
“This happens often. The train gets delayed by half-an-hour late, and people reach their workplaces late. A lot of techies rely on these trains to reach their companies in Bellandur, Mahadevpura, Whitefield, etc. Majority of the protesters, dressed in formals and carrying laptops, demanded the frequency of suburban trains should be increased,” said Mr Suhas Narayana Murthy, who was present at the spot.
The protest was called off only after Railway Protection Force officers arrived at the spot and persuaded the commuters. The train resumed its service at 9.50 am.
Over the last few months, techies and office and college goers have been convinced about the advantages of using suburban trains and the number commuters has gone up. But low frequency and lack of punctuality discourage commuters. Earlier, commuters had protested on Anekal Road, near Karmelram and Heelalige stations.
Railway experts and activists say that merely adding more stops at underutilised stations, like Byyappanahalli, Heelalige (Electronic City) and others will help solve the problem.
Mr Srinivas Alavilli from the Chukubuku campaign group said, “Having more stops at existing stations, like Bellandur, Karmelram and Byyappanahalli would ease the problem. Number of trains will have to be increased too."
Mr Suhas Murthy, who has also been part of the campaign for suburban rail, said, “There are 102 long-distance trains that pass through Whitefield, K.R. Puram and Hoodi. There needs to be more stoppages at important stations near tech parks. These trains need to maintain regular timings too. Sometimes, they come very late and other times, very early."
