Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will inaugurate the extended Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express before the third week of November. The service connects the state capital with three coastal Karnataka districts. MP Kota Srinivas Poojary met the Minister in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss this new route and other railway infrastructure needs.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Member of Parliament Kota Srinivas Poojary that he will inaugurate the extended Mangaluru-Karwar (Madgaon) Vande Bharat Express as the Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express before the third week of November.
In a statement, Mr. Poojary said the Railway Minister has also promised to visit Mangaluru to flag off the extended service, which connects the State capital with the three districts of coastal Karnataka. The assurance came when the MP met Mr. Vaishnaw in New Delhi on Wednesday. It may be noted that, the Bengaluru-Mumbai (CSMT) sleeper Vande Bharat Express — the first in South India — is scheduled for launch on Sunday.
Mr. Poojary thanked the Railway Minister for his September 29 announcement extending the Mangaluru Central–Madgaon–Mangaluru Central Vande Bharat Express to Bengaluru. In letters addressed to coastal Karnataka MPs Capt. Brijesh Chowta, Kota Srinivas Poojary, and Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Mr. Vaishnaw had said that the existing service, Train No. 20646/20645, would be extended to Yeshwantpur. The extended service will operate under new numbers — Train No. 26655/26656 Yeshwantpur–Madgaon–Yeshwantpur Vande Bharat Express via Mangaluru — with revised timings.
The MP also called on Minister of State for Railways (MoSR), V Somanna, to thank him for the Vande Bharat service to cater to the requirements of coastal Karnataka. He also thanked Mr. Somanna for being instrumental in bringing Mangaluru Railway Region under South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division from Southern Railways’ Palakkad Division.
KRCL merger
Mr. Poojary also drew the attention of the Railway Minister and the Minister of State regarding the long-pending demand from the people of coastal Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra to merge Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) with Indian Railways.
He noted that due to a financial crunch, KRCL is unable to enhance capacity by doubling lines and improving infrastructure on a par with Indian Railways. He urged the Ministry to immediately coordinate with stakeholder States — Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala — to implement the merger. The Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra have already agreed to cooperate in this regard.
He noted that due to a financial crunch, KRCL is unable to enhance capacity by doubling lines and improving infrastructure on a par with Indian Railways. He urged the Ministry to immediately coordinate with stakeholder States, namely Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala, to implement the merger. The Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra have already agreed to cooperate in this regard.