BENGALURU: Lalbagh Express, which runs between Bengaluru and Chennai, completed 30 years of service on Friday.
On July 1, 1992, the train left Bangalore City station for Chennai Central and covered 362km in five hours and 15 minutes with stops at Cantonment and Katpadi. In fact, it was the fastest train between both capital cities until Shatabdi Express between Chennai and Mysuru was introduced on May 11, 1994.
Rail activists said the stoppages and journey time of Lalbagh Express were reportedly increased to facilitate patronage of Bengaluru-Chennai Shatabdi Express, which was introduced in 2005.
In fact, the number of stations of Lalbagh Express increased to 11 over the years and now it takes six hours to cover the distance between the two cities. Activists feel it’s time Lalbagh Express increased its speed.
Krishna Prasad KN, a rail activist who was aboard the first Lalbagh Express from Bengaluru to Katpadi three decades ago, said: “The train left Bengaluru at 6:30am and reached Chennai Central at 11:45am that day. It had only two halts: Cantonment and Katpadi. It used to be the fastest train between both cities. But over the years, more stops were added and now it’s sadly a ‘glorified’ slow passenger train.”
He said the Bengaluru-Jolarpettai section was earlier a single track. “Now, it is an electrified double section, so travel time of this train can be improved. There are many regular passengers in this train travelling to colleges and hospitals in places like Vellore,” he said.
