HASSAN: The South Western Railway has proposed for partial cancellation of the train (no.16515/16516), Yeshwantpur-Karwar (tri-weekly) Express which has been popular as Kukke Subramanya train.
It’s in the wake of the introduction of a train between Vasco-Da-Gama and Tirupati, according to sources. Following which the commercial branch in Bengaluru has sought the views and consent from Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee members Karanam Ramesh, T R Raghothama Rao and Ananda Rao K.
Ramesh in his reply has expressed his disapproval, saying that thousands of commuters have been benefiting from the train. He urged authorities not to stop the service.
In fact, the pilgrims to the famous Kukke Subramanya temple and Dharmasthala were largely benefited by the service. Nature and adventure enthusiasts used to board the train as it passes through over 58 tunnels between Sakleshpur and Kukke Subramanya Road stations.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday it would start from Yeshwantpur at 7 am and reach Kukke Subramanya Road by 1.30 pm. As all the passengers would alight there, there were no passengers to travel to Mangaluru and Karwar.
This might be the reason behind the Railway Board deciding to partially cancel the train, an official said.