It will help students and migrants workers to reach Goa at an affordable fare
BIJAPUR; 07 April: The preparations are underway to launch a first train between Bijapur and Mangaluru via Goa as the train is expected to start operation by the end of May.
The officials of South Western Railway (SWR) have proposed to run the new daily express train between Bijapur and Mangaluru via Hubballi and Madgaon junctions to Railway Board. This train will be operated on Konkan Railway and SWR railway line.
According to sources, “Union Minister of Coals, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi and Rajyasabha MP Iranna Kadadi have proposed this train to SWR and the same has been proposed by the SWR to Railway Board.”
If the railway board approves the proposal, it will be the first train operating to Madgaon, which is about 30km from Panaji, the capital of Goa, from Bijapur. It will also be the first train to run from Hubballi Junction though Madgaon Junction and Londa connecting Mangaluru City.
A railway official said that, the proposal has been sent to railway board in the last week of February. The train is likely to be approved by the mid-May. Within couple of weeks of getting the nod the train will be flagged-off.
With the proposal of this new train operating in new route the fate of Bijapur -Mangaluru daily special express train hangs in balance. The SWR had introduced the Bijapur -Mangaluru daily express train in 2019, which operated till the lockdown was imposed. Thereafter the train was not introduced again and people are demanding to introduce the same train in the earliest. This train used to run via Hubballi, Arsikere and Hassan junctions, which was aimed to boast the tourism. But the train had failed to receive the expected response from the public.
Welcoming the proposal of SWR, Ashok Hallur, chairman of Bijapur Railway Action Committee, pointed that, this train will be beneficial for labour class, students and farmers. The large population from this region will migrate to coastal cities Madgaon, Panaji and Mangaluru in search of better livelihood. This train will help farmers to transport the veggies and horticulture produce. It will give a big boost to the connectivity of Costal and North Karnataka region. However, the authorities should not discontinue Bijapur-Mangaluru express train, which used to operate via Arsikere junction, urged Activist Hallur.
