A train connecting Bengaluru and Mysuru was renamed from Tipu Express to Wodeyar Express by the Railway Board on Friday, October 7. The name change was announced by Pratap Simha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Mysuru. He tweeted a letter written to the Union Railway Minister in July this year which said, “Considering the contributions of the Wodeyar dynasty, not only for the development of the railways but also for transforming it as a modern state, there is a strong sentiment among the people of my parliamentary constituency to rename (the train).”
Another express service connecting Mysuru and Talaguppa was renamed from Talaguppa Express to Kuvempu Express after Kannada poet Kuvempu. Speaking about the achievements of Kuvempu in his letter, Simha said, “he (Kuvempu) did not believe in superstitions, blind beliefs and divisions based on caste, creed and other groups. He was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award and Padma Bhushan.” The letter also added that this name change will have a “profound impact” on the people of Mysuru and the poet’s hometown Shivamogga.
ಶುಕ್ರವಾರದ ಶುಭ ಸುದ್ದಿ!
— Pratap Simha (@mepratap) October 7, 2022
ಇನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಟಿಪ್ಪು ಎಕ್ಸ್ಪ್ರೆಸ್ ಬದಲು “ಒಡೆಯರ್ ಎಕ್ಸ್ಪ್ರೆಸ್ “ ನಿಮಗೆ ಸೇವೆ ನೀಡಲಿದೆ!! ಮೈಸೂರು-ತಾಳಗುಪ್ಪ ರೈಲು "ಕುವೆಂಪು ಎಕ್ಸ್ಪ್ರೆಸ್'' ಆಗಲಿದೆ!!! ಥಾಂಕ್ಯೂ ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ ವೈಷ್ಣವ್ @AshwiniVaishnaw ji ಮತ್ತು ಈ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆನ್ನೆಲುಬಾಗಿ ನಿಂತ ಪ್ರಹ್ಲಾದ್ ಜೋಶಿ @JoshiPralhad ಸರ್! pic.twitter.com/uZzHt1uzZz
The name changes come after Simha met Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in February where he made the request for the name to be changed. While changing the name of Talaguppa Express did not result in controversy, the renaming of Tipu Express drew flak from several critics in the state. According to the Deccan Herald, Lokesh TP from Karnataka Railway Vedike said that this name change is “needless politics” and Simha should have asked for a new train and named it after the Wodeyars instead of changing the name of an existing one. He added that renaming an existing train would not be of any use to the people and that the MP must have asked for a new train for the peak hours.
The Tipu Express was first introduced in 1980 as a superfast train connecting Bengaluru and Mysuru. It covered 139 kms in nearly 3 hours.