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ShareMangalore: The Railway ministry has yet again given a short shrift to Karnataka, without even making an official announcement that the dream train, Yeshwanthpur (Bangalore) - Mangalore train, (No.6517 DN), has been extended up to Kannur. The pairing train No 6518 Up will now run from Kannur to Yeshwanthpur. Incidentally Mangalore has been relegated to a position of 'just another station' overnight from November 2.
In another blow to travellers between Mangalore-Bangalore, the stop at Kankanady has been converted into a re-fueling station.
The changes have been made without any notice, except for a four-line press release issued notifying the new time-table.
The secretary of the Railway department in Delhi, Padmanabha, said, "The train extension cannot be announced now as model code of conduct is in force in Kerala due to by-elections to some assembly constituencies in that state. However, the extension decision has been taken by the Railway Board."
Former member of the Zonal Railway User Committee (ZRUC), Jayaram Rai, said, "This was nothing but a conspiracy; travelers from Mangalore to Bangalore have lost the cost advantage of the general compartment due to the extension. Those who depended on the train to go to Bangalore in the general compartment cannot get a seat anymore as the compartments come fully occupied from Kannur. The train stops even at some very small stations, but a major junction like Kankanady in Karnataka has been cancelled."
However, when contacted, station manager at Mangalore station, Dasan, negated the message saying, "The train has not been extended to Kannur so far."
The Union minister for Railways, E Ahmed, was mobbed by railway users at Mangalore station on Monday who demanded the extension be withdrawn. He, however, stated that it was not possible and chose to lecture them on the "pan-India" nature of the railways.
However, when various travel associations of the state asked him to extend the Bangalore-Salem-Kannur train to Mangalore, the minister quickly got into a 'regional imbalance' mode and declined to comment on that aspect.
Ramesh Adiga, a traveler on the train that went to Kannur, told DNA, "I boarded the train at Mangalore central to Kannur on Monday. The train left here at 9.17 am after arriving from Yeshwanthpur at 8.45 am."
