There is good news for passengers travelling between the coast and Karnataka capital Bengaluru as the South Western Railway (SWR) has decided to cut the arrival timings of Karwar-Bengaluru train by 45 minutes and Kannur-Bengaluru train by 20 minutes. As a result from June 1, the journey from Mangaluru to Bengaluru will take 10.20 hours and from Karwar to Bengaluru will take 13.15 hours. According to The Hindu, the recent track renewal between Hassan and Shravanabelagola has led to the speed of trains on the Hassan-Bengaluru section increasing due to which the travel time has reduced.
From June 1, train No. 16512 Kannur-Bengaluru overnight express via Mangaluru Central, which arrives in Bengaluru at 6.50 am every day, would reach Bengaluru at 6.30 am. On the way, it will leave Hassan at 2.55 am, Channarayapatna at 3.21 am, Shravanabelagola at 3.31 am, Balagangadharanagar at 3.58 am, Kunigal at 4.29 am and Yeshwantpur at 6.04 am, the report said.
The return train no. 16511, which used to leave Bengaluru at 9.30 pm would now depart from Bengaluru city station at 9.35 pm from June 1. Accordingly, the train will depart from Yeshwantpur at 9.47 pm, Kunigal at 10.45 pm, Balagangadharanagar at 11.11 pm, Shravanabelagola at 11.36 pm, Channarayapatna at 11.46 pm and Hassan at 12.40 am.
Train no. 16596 Karwar-Bengaluru Panchaganga Express, which arrives in KSR Bengaluru city railway station at 8 am, would now reach at 7.15 am from June 1. Accordingly, the train will depart Hassan at 3.53 am, Channarayapatna at 4.19 am, Kunigal at 5.16 am (experimental stoppage for three months) and Yeshwantpur at 6.45 am, the report added.
The return train no 16595 Bengaluru-Karwar Panchaganga Express will depart from KSR Bengaluru city railway station at 6.50 pm instead of 6.45 pm. It will depart from Yeshwantpur at 7.02 pm, Kunigal at 7.46 pm, Channarayapatna at 8.51 pm and Hassan at 9.38 pm.
For both the train services at Mangaluru and Karwar, the arrival timings remain unchanged. The press release from SWR adds that all the passengers should follow the COVID-19 protocols in train and station platforms.