Saturday, December 01, 2007

The Dream Route Train !!

One great news for all those Indian railways fan, from 8th of Dec passenger trains between Mangalore and Bangalore (the dream rail track route through Western Ghats) is starting. It’s something that people of Dakshina Kannada desperately waiting for so long time. The ticket booking for this train Yeswantpur- Mangalore Express (No: 6517/8) is started today, and by the time I book mine the quota was almost over.

Timings :
The first ever passenger train on this route will be flagged-off at Mangalore Railway Station by the Railway Minister on 8th Dec 2007 at 11.30 AM. The corresponding train from Bangalore will leave Yeswantpur Railway Station at 8.35 PM on the same day. And from 9th Dec the regular service will begin from Yeswantpur at 8.35 PM and will reach Mangalore at 8.05 AM the next day. The train from Mangalore will leave Mangalore at 7.45 PM and will reach at Yeswantpur at 7.40 AM next day.

Route :
The train will run via Yeswantpur/Bangalore -> Kengeri -> Mandaya-> Mysore -> Krishnarajnagar -> Sakleshpura -> Kabakaputtara -> Bantawal -> Kankanadi -> Mangalore. The end to end distance will be around 503 K.ms and that will be covered by 11 hrs 30 mins of time.

Coaches :
There will be 16 coaches in the train which includes 6 ordinary, 6 sleepers, one 2AC, one 3 AC and two luggage coaches.

Fares :
The fares for traveling between the two end points will cost in Indian Rupees 119 by Second Class, 227 by Sleeper Class, 611 by 3AC and 850 by 2AC.

Most of the people know the importance of this train and the route is absolutely mind blowing, traveling through the Ghats is always a pleasure to eyes. I guess some pictures would explain it better then anything else…. Need to wait sometime. I wish the other purposed train which would run in the day light will also be flagged-off soon.

2 comments:

yedde said...

This is outrageous, who the hell will sit for 11-12 hrs for a 500 km distance. This whole thing is a political gimmick. I am sure the Bus owner’s are involved in this drama. The Railways could have taken the Yeshwantpur-Hassan-Sakaleshpur-Mangalore line. This journey would have been around 360 kms and covered in about 7 hrs. But the Railways are taking a round about and wasting people’s time and train fuel. The time at which the train reaches mangalore(8.00 am) is not suitable for business people. This will make the travelers opt for Bus rather than train. In my opinion we travelers should protest against the railways and make the railways a profit making organization and not make bureaucrats rich.

alok said...

Thanks Yedde for sharing your thoughts.

It’s true that this route is bit long but I guess at least one can have a good nights sleep and moreover it will also connect mysore-mangalore. And yes as far as I know shortly there will be another train running on the route that you have mentioned. I found the exact route in the Railway time table (with train no 6515/6), guess, it will be a day train with less traveling hours.