BENGALURU: Even as commuters between Kolar and Bengaluru and adjacent areas are desperate for electric trains, it has just come to light that one such rake has been dispatched to Ayodhya recently by the Bengaluru Railway Division on request. It has not yet been returned. The response to an RTI by the South Western Railway Zone cited a shortage of rakes and terminal constraints at Kolar.
With electrification fully complete in 149 km between Yelahanka and Bangarpet via Kolar seven months ago, commuters demand the diesel trains operated presently be replaced with electric ones so that more passengers can be accommodated and the travel time is reduced.
Electric trains run from Bengaluru up to Chikkaballapura but not beyond that despite the section being fully electrified.
A reliable Railway source told TNIE, “We do not have enough Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) trains to run along this new stretch. Moreover, a rake was dispatched to Ayodhya recently. We could have used it and run at least 2-3 onward and return trips a day. Even that is not possible now.”
He added that rake shortage is not the only reason. “We also suffer from staff shortage. If we launch MEMU trains, we need more staff at Kolar railway station to manage them and to safeguard electrical equipment too. No recruitment too is happening as of now,” he said.
An RTI application filed by Chintamani-based railway activist Amruth Gowda seeking the reasons for the delay in introducing MEMUs received a response from SWR on February 7. “There is an acute shortage of MEMU rakes. There are terminal constraints in Kolar. Chikkaballapura-Kolar is a single-line section. Hence, the extension of MEMU trains terminating at Chikkaballapura to Kolar is not feasible,” the reply stated.
IT professionals and students are among those who commute to Yelahanka from Kolar. Many are upset over this delay in introducing MEMUs, said a member of the Chikkaballapura-Kolar Rail Users Association U Yadhukrishna.
“Four DEMU train pairs are running along this stretch. They start at KSR Bengaluru or Yelahanka or Kolar and one train even runs till Hassan. Many commuters do not get seating space for the journey from Kolar to Bengaluru which lasts over 3 hours and are exhausted by the time they reach their workplace. A DEMU has eight coaches and can accommodate only a maximum of 800 passengers while comparatively, a 16-coach MEMU can easily seat over 1,000 passengers, and save the public considerable time,” Yadhukrishna explained.