BENGALURU: By availing leave on Monday, many Bengalureans are dashing out of the city for a four-day break, leaving trains and buses packed. Five trains departing from railway stations across Bengaluru had a waiting list of more than 250 passengers, forcing Railways to add additional coaches in two trains. KSRTC has introduced at least 500 buses to cater to the huge demand for tickets.
According to a railway official, trains heading towards Shiradi had the maximum rush. “In addition, trains leaving for Howrah, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Guwahati were also packed due to the weekend and Independence Day holidays.”
Bengaluru Railway Division introduced an additional general coach in Sampark Kranti Express (YPR to New Delhi) and Bengaluru City-Nanded Express on Friday to meet the rush, the official said. “Along with these two trains, three trains - Bengaluru-Kochuveli Express, Rani Chennamma Express and Yesvantpur-Howrah Express had a waiting list beyond 250. We were not even able to introduce additional coaches in these trains as they were already running with 25 coaches,” the official added.
A top KSRTC official said the corporation had introduced 500 additional buses to cater to the rush outside the city. “There is a big rush to Shiradi, Mantralaya, Dharmasthala and Madikeri and we have introduced most of our additional buses along these routes,” he said. Within the state, the demand is high towards Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Shivammogga and Kalaburagi, he said. Elsewhere, there is a rush towards Chennai, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai, the official said.
“The number of tickets booked online on Thursday touched record 30,000,” he added.The official claimed, “The main reason why passengers opt for us is that our prices are reasonable and constant. Private operators have been selling tickets by more than trebling their rates to cash in. For instance, a ticket to Mumbai which costs `1,000 is getting sold at `3,500 now.”