Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa flagged off a new train on Friday connecting Bengaluru and Vasco in Goa via the coastal districts of Karnataka. CM Yediyurappa and Union Minister of State of Railways Suresh Angadi flagged off the train at the Yeshwanthpur railway station in the city.
"Increasing connectivity, enhancing convenience"
— Suresh Angadi (@SureshAngadi_) March 7, 2020
Alongside Hon'ble @CMofKarnataka Shri @BSYBJP, flagged off #Yesvantpur-#Karwar-#Vasco special express and conversion of coaches of #Yesvantpur-#Bijapur express into modern LHB coaches. pic.twitter.com/BF6tBHOYb7
The train number 16595/16596 will ply between Yeshwantpur and Vasco via Udupi and Karwar. It will reach Udupi via Sakleshpur and Padil. The train will depart Yeshwantpur at 6.45 pm and arrive in Karwar at 8.25 am the next day before reaching Vasco at 10.30 am. The train from Vasco will depart at 3.25 pm and reach Karwar at 5.45 pm. It will depart from Karwar at 6 pm and arrive at Yeshwanthpur at 8 am.
"This train will provide direct connectivity to Bengaluru, Udupi, Kundapur and Karwar and fulfill the long standing demand of the people of the coastal region," read a statement by South Western Railways.
The new train service will replace the existing overnight Karwar express which connected Bengaluru and Karwar. A key change in the new route is that it does not travel to Mangaluru city, thereby saving time for passengers heading to Udupi and Uttara Kannada. "The earlier train was slower by two hours because it would go to Mangaluru junction and then had to reverse the engine and go north," Sanjeev Dyamannavar, an urban transport activist said.
The service was operated in combination with the train from Bengaluru to Kannur in Kerala. The train would bifurcate at Mangaluru with one train heading south to Kannur and another train heading north to Karwar. "It was leading to delays in Mangaluru and this would mean that the train from Bengaluru to Udupi would take over 13 hours," says Dhanush, a regular traveller on the route.
In the new route, the train by-passes Mangaluru and travels to Udupi from Padil in Dakshina Kannada. This means that the train is scheduled to reach Udupi at 4:30 am instead of the earlier timing of 8 am.
The train service to Mangaluru remains unaffected since the Bengaluru-Kannur Express via Mangaluru (four days through Kunigal and three days through Mysuru) will run on a revised setup of 15 coaches. "This arrangement solves several transport issues but the only point of complaint is among people in Mandya and Mysuru since the direct connectivity to Udupi and Karwar is disrupted," adds Sanjeev.