In a move that will benefit thousands of people who commute between Bengaluru and Tumakuru every day, South Western Railways (SWR) has decided to run MEMU train services between the two cities for the first time.
Starting from April 8, SWR will run one pair of train services from Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna City railway station to Tumakuru. The train (06575/06576) will have 16 cars.
Daily commuters have welcomed the move and said that it will help provide a comfortable travel experience, reduce travel time, and help in bringing down carbon emissions.
“This has been a long-pending demand. Ever since the Railway Safety Commissioner inspected the electrified line from Yeshwanthpur to Tumakuru, the commuters have been demanding the SWR to run MEMU trains. Every day more than 8,000 passengers travel on this route,” said Karanam Ramesh, secretary of the Train Commuters’ Forum, Tumakuru.
Forum members have also been demanding that SWR introduce train services between 5.30 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. from Tumakuru to Bengaluru for those who have to report to work early.
According to Chief PRO of SWR, Aneesh Hegde, the entire project from Chikkabanavar to Hubballi line will be completed by the end of the current financial year. “During the previous financial year, we completed electrification of up to 100 km of the 456 km line. The total cost of the project is ₹ 857 crore,” he said.
He added that electrification work on the 166 km stretch from Hassan – Chikkabanavara will be taken up in coming days as the tender process has been completed. The Railway is spending ₹187 crore for this stretch.
With growing demands to run suburban train services as people return to work, SWR is set to resume some of the MEMU and DEMU services which it had halted during the pandemic.
Fom April 8 onwards, four pairs of MEMU trains services between the city and Marikuppam will be resumed. A decision has also been taken to run DEMU services from city to Hassan and city to Channapatna, said officials.
Prior to the pandemic, in the Bengaluru Division, SWR was running 64 MEMU trains and 35 DEMU services. At present, it is running 36 MEMU and 24 DEMU services. The maximum number of MEMU trains, 24, are being operated between Bengaluru and Jolarpettai. However, this is half of the number of trains operated pre-pandemic.
