Bengaluru: When Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the Bengaluru- Ramanagara mainline electric multiple unit (MEMU) train on January 16, it was widely welcomed and seen as a template that can replicated in other parts of city, to ease pressure on roads.
In the morning the train also touches Whitefield, home to many IT majors, and goes back to Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) station. It has stoppages at Cantonment, Bangalore East, Baiyappanahalli, K.R. Puram, Hoodi and Whitefield.
It was seen as a partial victory for ‘chuku buku beku’ movement for commuter rail to link various parts of the city.
However, nearly a fortnight after the service began; Railway officials are worried about the low patronage and its future sustainability. They hope occupancy will pick up in future.
“The daily occupancy of the MEMU train is around 25 per cent only. The demand seemed much higher, which is why it was implemented. The train from Bengaluru to Shivamogga also sees a small occupancy of 30-40 per cent,” said Aparna Garg, Additional Divisional Railway Manager of SWR, Bengaluru division.
These two trains were launched on the same day and hardly meet the project cost incurred by the Railways, the official added.
However Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) activists, who spearheaded the Chuku buku beku movement, feel it is too early to assess the impact and called for changes in timings to benefit users.
CfB member Sujith Deshpande said, “It is too early to decide. More awareness is needed among the public to use suburban rail. However, the timings are not entirely favourable. A lot of IT officials in Whitefield finish work by 5 or 6 pm. The train is only there in the morning right now. We need one in the evening as well, when people return home,” Sujith added.
CfB had brought about public pressure to gain the attention of officials and politicians. It had argued that a lot of IT employees working in Whitefield would benefit from the service and reduce road congestion. While a few months needs to be given, for the occupancy of the this train to develop, the Railways is constantly working for launching other new lines.
Link to Hassan: The rail route from Bengaluru to Hassan may soon become a reality. “A Bengaluru-Hassan Line will be launched in February. There is an existing line from the city to Nelamangala and between Shravanabelagola-Hassan. In the 111 km distance between Nelamanagala and Shravanabelagola, tracks have been laid. Next week, there will be an inspection by the Commissioner of Rail Safety,” said Sanjiv Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager. Once that is done, they will decide on running a train in that route, he added.
