BENGALURU: The much-awaited Hoodi Halt station was opened to the public on Thursday. This comes as a relief for thousands of passengers, including IT professionals and labourers, who used to alight at the unauthorised halt station at Whitefield Panel Cabin to rush to their office.
The halt station is located between Krishnarajapuram and Whitefield railway stations.
Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan declared open the station and flagged off the first train which had a halt here, the Bengaluru Cantonment-Bangarpet DEMU, at 12.38pm.
Inaugurating the station, Mohan, who donated `2.87 crore from his MPLAD fund for the station, said, “I was moved by the sight of a pregnant woman hurriedly jumping off a train on to the tracks and thought it was very dangerous. I received representations from many passengers too and really wanted to improve the safety here.”
The station will play a crucial role when the suburban rail network is in place in the city, he added.
Mohan reiterated his commitment towards ensuring suburban rail service for the city. “Local transport is a state subject. A Special Purpose Vehicle needs to be created as a partnership between the Centre and state for suburban service.”
The MP said he was willing to provide `1 crore to create a halt station at Devanakunte.
Mahadevapura MAL Aravind Limbavalli said, “As an MP, Mohan has created history by being the only MP in the country to have made such a huge contribution from his funds for putting in place the station. Even the Railway Minister made a mention of it in his budget speech.”
Sanjiv Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, said seven pairs of trains will have a one-minute halt at Hoodi regularly. “We have sent a proposal to Hubballi for the Bengaluru-Arakkonam Passenger to have a stop here in both directions,” he said.
Trains will not stop at Whitefield Panel Cabin halt (also referred to as Prestige Shanti Niketan stop) from now, said a railway official. However, another stop located 1.5 km
away to assist railway staff, the Satellite Goods Terminal
stop, will continue to function, he said.
Ajit Sequeira of Whitefield Rising, which was among the groups that campaigned for the station, said, “It is a proud day for us. Many groups in the Whitefield area made a joint representation for this. ”