South Western Railway announces new train between Yesvantpur to Vasco da Gama

MANGALURU: Public pressure prevailed on South Western Railway with Hubballi headquartered zonal railway on Tuesday announcing introduction of new train – 06587/88 Yesvantpur-Vasco da Gama-Yesvantpur daily special train on special fare via Subrahmanya Road, Padil, Surathkal and Karwar. This train has become a reality 13 years after passenger train services between state capital and the coast via Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section, resumed.
The announcement comes close on heels of proposal by SWR to bifurcate existing combined train – Bengaluru-Kannur/Karwar overnight express, which expectedly ran in to rough weather from people from the coast. While locals are not prepared to part with services of combined train, those in rest of the coast dd not want its bifurcation for it did not reduce journey hours. A meeting at Railway Board in New Delhi last week failed to break this impasse.
On the contrary, meeting that representatives of coastal passengers' associations attended at Hubballi on Monday found the solution to this issue. A SWR notification on Monday said this service that will start soon will halt at Chikkabanavara, Channarayapatna, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Subrahmanya Road, Kabaka Puttur, Surathkal, Udupi, Barkur, Kundapur, Byndoor, Bhatkal, Murdeshwara, Kumta, Gokarna Road, Ankola, Karwar and Madgaon.
The train with three general class, one each 2-tier and 3-tier AC, seven general second class sleeper and two luggage-cum-brake van coaches will takes 13.45 hours to reach Karwar from Yesvantpur while the existing service (via Kunigal/Mysuru) take more than 17 hours. The train will leave Yesvantpur at 6.45 pm to reach Karwar at 8.25 am and Vasco at 10.30 am the next day bypassing Mangaluru via Padil bypass off Mangaluru Junction.
It leaves Vasco at 4.40pm and Karwar at 8.32 pm to reach Yesvantpur at 9am the next day. Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje, Kumta MP Dinakar K Shetty, passenger associations and others thanked railway ministry, minister of state for railways Suresh C Angadi, SWR and Konkan Railway for the service that drastically reduces travel time and established more direct connectivity between Bengaluru and Goa with the new train.