BENGALURU: A dangerous scenario plays out at the busy Kengeri Railway Station, where 29 of 36 pairs of trains stop and pass by. Trains arrive and depart on the tracks of the interconnected Platforms 2 and 3, while tracks on the other two platforms have trains permanently stationed. The public can board trains only by scaling a steep flight of stairs leading to a Foot Over Bridge (FOB) and alighting by another steep staircase. They resort to numerous risky short-cuts to reach their trains.
Many passengers climb into the coaches of the Belagavi Express (KSR Bengaluru to Belagavi) parked on Platform 1 from 7 am to 7 pm, jump out of the open train doors and cross the railway tracks to reach PF 2/3. This train arrives as Rani Chennamma Express from Miraj to Bengaluru and the name is changed later. Another dangerous route a few passengers take is to go down, squeeze themselves through gaps between wheels and reach the other side, say locals.
PF 1 has easy access to the nearby road, Railway Parallel Road. However, since the track here is blocked by a parked train six days a week, other trains cannot stop or start here. GC Deepak, a regular passenger, tells TNIE. “Every day, I watch senior citizens and women, many with luggage, struggle to go up and down the stairs. Trains must stop here to help the public.”
When this reporter visited the station, R Ranjitha, a local who is eight months pregnant, was seen alighting from a train from Mysuru with her husband from PF-2. She then climbed the stairs leading to the FOB cautiously and alighted very slowly. “We travel frequently from this station. The present system makes reaching or leaving the platforms quite difficult. You can imagine the strain it is for someone in my condition.” Many passengers stressed on the difficulty in boarding trains here. “I use the trolley path. Many women too do it which is actually trespassing,” said R. Karthik, a passenger.
Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager Yogesh Mohan said, “I will see what best can be done. If the public is inconvenienced, we have to find a solution.” A senior official told TNIE, “There are two reasons why the train is being parked on Platform-1 The tracks along Platform 1 and 4 are Loop Line while main lines are located along Platforms 2 and 3.
If a train coming from the main line is diverted to the Loop Line, then the speed must be reduced considerably. The deceleration and later acceleration would cause an average time loss of 8 minutes per train. Another reason for parking the train here is there is no space to do so at KSR station.” He added,
“Elevators are getting installed here and will be commissioned by March 2024. Public can access platforms comfortably after that.”