The Kanyakumari District Rail Users’ Association has urged the Railway Ministry to reroute the Kanyakumari-Sri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra (SVDK)-Kanyakumari Himsagar Weekly Express via Mangaluru Junction and the Konkan Railway network.
In a recent letter to the Ministry, Association Secretary Edward Jeni wrote: ‘This diversion of Train No. 16317/318 would not only reduce the distance and travel from end-to-end, but also provide direct connectivity between Kanyakumari and the Karnataka coast. Moreover, this would fill the void created by the cancellation of Train No. 16687/688 Mangaluru Central-SVDK Navayug Weekly Express during COVID-19 pandemic’.
Mangaluru-based Paschima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath said, “After cancellation of Navayug Express, coastal Karnataka does not have a direct link to Katra in Jammu region.”
Mr. Jeni said Train No. 16317/318 traverses 3,788 km in 68.2 hours in the Up direction, and 72 hours in the Down direction. The route is Jammu Tawi, New Delhi, Agra, Bhopal, Nagpur, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Katpady, Coimbatore, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram Central.
Train No 16317/318
| Existing Route | Proposed Route |
| Katra | Katra |
| Jammu Tawi | Jammu Tawi |
| New Delhi | New Delhi |
| Agra | Mathura |
| Bhopal | Kota |
| Nagpur | Vadodara |
| Vijayawada | Panvel |
| Tirupati | Madgaon |
| Katpady | Mangaluru Junction |
| Coimbatore | Kozhikode |
| Ernakulam | Ernakulam |
| Thiruvananthapuram | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Kanyakumari | Kanyakumari |
If the service is rerouted via Konkan Railway network via Mangaluru, the distance would be 3,573 km, a reduction of 215 km. The train would go via Madgaon, Panvel, Vadodara, Kota, Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Jammu Tawi.
Passengers from Kanyakumari region could save about five hours. Passengers from Mangaluru could save considerable distance (2,900 km, as against 3686 km by Navayug Express — Train No. 16687/688) and time (50 hours, as against 70 hours), he argued.
Mr. Kamath and Mr. Jeni pointed out that the rerouting would also provide direct connectivity between coastal Karnataka and Kanyakumari.
In future, once the Udhampur-Baramulla line is completed, coastal Karnataka could get directly connected to Baramulla in Kashmir.
