TIRUCHY: Even after multiple demands falling on deaf ears, railway officials attached to Tiruchy division once again requested with the Railways for an additional daily train between Tiruchy and Bengaluru. An additional service would be of benefit to the employees of the Silicon Valley who, at present, have to rely on a single daily train plying between Tiruchy and Bengaluru.
Though a special train between Yeshwanthpur (Bengaluru) and Tiruchy was introduced by the Indian Railways between December 29, 2018, and January 13, 2019, the service eventually came to a standstill. "We have had raised multiple requested in the years gone by.
However, the authorities are yet to sanction it citing high traffic on the Bengaluru route. We are trying our best to get an additional daily train to Bengaluru," a senior railway official said. At present, three daily flights operate between Tiruchy and Bengaluru with an occupancy of over 70 percent. Similarly, many luxury buses also operate between Tiruchy and Bengaluru every day.
However, many passengers prefer trains to flight and buses over exorbitant rates. For instance, a passenger from Tiruchy has to spend around *Rs 4,000 for a flight to Bengaluru and luxury buses range between *Rs 700 to *Rs 1,000. In contrast, Mysuru Express running between Tiruchy and Bengaluru offers a sleeper class ticket at Rs 255, a chair car ticket at Rs 560, a third AC ticket at Rs 695 and a second AC ticket at Rs 985. "Mysuru Express leaves Tiruchy at 8:35 pm and reaches Bengaluru at 5 am.
The additional trains servicing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday reaches Bengaluru only after 11 am, causing inconvenience to commuters. Therefore, the railways should consider allotting an additional daily train that reaches Bengaluru at least by 8 am," said Prasanna A, a city resident working in Bengaluru.
(*Ticket rates are subject to change depending on time of booking and other factors).