Regular passengers of train number (06262), operated between Hosur and Bengaluru, demanded the South Western Railway (SWR) to withdraw the notification on cancellation of the service with effect from Monday.
On Friday, at Heelalige station, a section of the passengers raised slogans against cancellation of the service. They said that the cancellation will cause inconvenience to working professionals and aged people.
Sanjeev Deshpande, who was a regular traveler using the train from Hebbal to Heelalige, said, “I regularly used the service. Like me, hundreds of the people working in Attibele, Jigani, Electronics City and other areas use the service. Companies are providing buses from Heelalige station to their workplace. To get from my workplace to my home, it would take three hours by car and cost anywhere around ₹700 per day. Whereas, a train journey costs ₹10. People who do not have vehicles and if they rely on BMTC buses, it would take more than four hours to reach their homes.” He added that the SWR cancelled a local train service on the day the Prime Minister laid the foundation for the suburban rail project.
Narendranath, another commuter, said, “Cancellation of the morning and evening trains operated between Hosur and the city goes against the interest of the public. People working in Jigani, Bommasandra, Electronics City and other areas, are using Heelalige station to reach their workplace. There was an ecosystem to provide feeder service. We were also planning to request the BMTC to provide services for the benefit of the commuters. Meanwhile, the SWR took an abrupt decision to cancel the services. We demand the SWR to roll back the decision in the interest of regular travelers.”
As per the recent notification by the SWR, two trains (06261 /06262) were cancelled with effect from June 20.
