First train from SMVB chugs off 51 mins behind schedule as many passengers reach wrong station

The originating and terminating points of two pairs of trains between Bengaluru & Kerala & one between Bengaluru & Patna have been shifted from Banaswadi to this terminal, turning nightmare for many.
The brand new Sir M Visvesvaraya Bengaluru (SMVB) terminal. (Photo | Ashish Krishna, EPS)
The brand new Sir M Visvesvaraya Bengaluru (SMVB) terminal. (Photo | Ashish Krishna, EPS)

BENGALURU: Loud chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram' rent the air accompanied by whistles and claps on Platform 1 of the brand new Sir M Visvesvaraya Bengaluru (SMVB) terminal as the SMVB-Ernakulam Triweekly Express departed at 7.51 pm.

However, it turned out to be a nightmare for over 50 passengers as they landed at the Banaswadi railway station, which had been the starting point for the train for so long. Railways arranged to bring them here by a MEMU train and a BMTC bus to catch the new train.

The originating and terminating points of two pairs of trains between Bengaluru and Kerala and one between Bengaluru and Patna have been shifted from Banaswadi to this Rs 314-crore terminal from June 6.

“The train has been booked 100 per cent. Nearly 150 passengers out of the total carrying capacity of the train of 1,098 passengers left from SMVB while the rest will board at K R Puram and Bangarpet,” said Divisional Railway Manager Shyam Singh.

The Bengaluru Railway Division insists all the reserved ticket passengers were alerted about the change of venue through SMSs and emails. Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Krishna Reddy said, “For the last one week, the commercial team has alerted every passenger who has booked tickets on the trains which have been shifted here. However, we expected some people to reach Banaswadi as this is the first day following the shifting of the terminal and so we had BMTC buses there on standby. Approximately 50 passengers were brought here by the Banaswadi-Kuppam MEMU while three travellers were brought by a BMTC bus.”

Among those on board was Pramod Pillai, a retired employee from HAL. He told TNIE, “The platform and the station are fantastic. But look at the state of the train. It is so dirty. When the Railways can spend so much, they might as well put a better rake for passenger comfort. Just go inside and see.” His daughter-in-law, Rashmi R, an advocate with Deloitte, charged, “This is the case with all Kerala-bound trains whenever I have travelled. Look at trains heading to Tamil Nadu. They are so well-maintained and in very good condition.”

Railway expert Krishna Prasad too expressed his unhappiness over a new train not being launched here. “I am glad that it has finally started. However, am disappointed that a new train has not been launched, say to Mumbai on the opening day. This is an old train, an old unwanted baby. We wanted to see a new train from here,” he said.

Retired army man N D Antappan, his wife Jeena Mathew and son C A Albert made a dash from Banaswadi station by hiring a cab and reached here. Jeena said, “What a surprise this station is. We had packed food assuming we would start from Banaswadi where literally nothing is available. This station has everything. Antappan added, “We got a cup of coffee just for Rs 10 and it was excellent and we had two cups!” while his son said he was extremely happy to see such a classy station.

Athira, an artiste said, “The station is very cool and very neat. We came to see off someone and I initially thought we had landed at the airport. Brothers Sasikumar and P Vijayakumar came over just to see the first train leave the station after reading and hearing about it. “It is excellent. We are very happy we came over,” said Vijayakumar.

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