BENGALURU: The long-pending demand for a diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) train to Whitefield is all set to be realised soon.
The Bengaluru railway division on Wednesday sent a proposal to launch two special services between Yeshwanthpur and Whitefield, which will terminate at Malur.
“A proposal to run a morning and afternoon train from Yeshwanthpur has been sent to the South Western Railway headquarters in Hubballi late on Wednesday evening. Services will commence after we get the green signal,” Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager Sanjiv Agarwal said.
To facilitate connectivity for people to avail this service, it was also proposed to revise the train timings of the Yeshwanthpur-Nelamangala train, he added.
“There is such a huge demand from the IT sector for trains to Whitefield for quite some time. Bearing this in mind, we have proposed this service,” said Additional Divisional Railway Manager Sunanda Arul.
Agarwal said, “During an inspection on Wednesday, we found that many factory workers alighted at Malur. Initially, we had a proposal of terminating the train at Whitefield, but this would also create a stabling problem at Whitefield before it begins the return trip.”
Extending the service to Malur will be beneficial to the workers and the train can also have stabling space there, Agarwal added.
Timing Change
The move to ease passenger load on the Chamundi Express by introducing the 06540 Bengaluru City-Ramanagaram DEMU Special on July 9 has not clicked due to poor patronage.
“We have also sent a proposal to extend the Ramanagaram train in both directions and change the arrival and departure timings.
The originating station will be Yeshwanthpur and it will then touch the city station and terminate at Maddur instead of Ramanagaram, DRM Agarwal said. The previous starting point was the city station.
This proposal was sent a week ago and it is likely to be cleared soon.