Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Apr 9: 'Kudla Express', the long-awaited Mangaluru-Bengaluru day train finally chugged off from Mangaluru Junction here on Sunday April 9, with union minister for railways Suresh Prabhu inaugurating the train through video conferencing from Margoa.

The train will take Hassan-Shravanabelagola route. However, the train will run from Junction station here instead of Central.

On the same occasion, the 82-km eletrified section connecting Mangaluru Central, Mangaluru Junction and Chervatthur railway stations, and double line between Panambur and Jokatte, with a new railway station at Jokatte, were also inaugurated by Suresh Prabhu through video conference.

 
Addressing the gathering, union minister for statistics and programme implementation D V Sadananda Gowda said, "Today is the happiest day of my life as a long-pending dream has come true with the dedication of Kudla Express to Mangaluru. When I was the railway minister, along with MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, we had a brief discussion about the development in the railway department. As railway is the lifeline of the country, we had to take some concrete measures for its development. 

"During my tenure I sent a proposal to start 26 trains, out of which 24 have already been commissioned. When Mallikarjun Kharge was the railway minister, Rs 816 crore was alloted for railways but during my tenure in 2014-15 nearly Rs 1,618 crore was alloted to the development of the railway in the state. We chalked out a certain plan of action, including Jeppu- Kudupady and Padil railway underpass which are already functional, and installation of Wi-Fi in Mangaluru Central last year. As there was demand of a world-class raiway station on that note, 400 railway stations across the country were recommended for upgradation during the budget.

"Our priority is to cut down the travelling time between Mangaluru and Bengaluru which used to take 9 hours. This train will benefit all people. For now, it has been commissioned from Mangaluru junction, but I assure you that in the near future, we will ensure that it will depart from Mangaluru Central," Sadananda Gowda said.

MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said, "We need to thank Sadananda Gowda and Suresh Prabhu for dedicating Kudla Express to Mangaluru. Earlier the development in the railway deparment was very slow, and it was Sadananda Gowda who played a prominent role in the speeding up railway projects.

"During his tenure he (Sadananda Gowda) undertook several development works including Padil railway underpass, Jeppu-Kudupady railway underpass, upgradation of Subramanya and Puttur railway station and now this Kudla Express. As we also need to concentrate on introducing a night train, this development will make way for promoting religious tourism, beach tourism, education tourism and health toursim. There was a lot of demand among the people for Kudla Express, and today their demand has been met. We will make sure that in the coming days Kudla Express will extend up to Mangaluru Central," the MP said.

District in-charge minister Ramanath Rai said, "Today is an auspicious day for Mangaluru as Kudla Express has been dedicated its citizens. There was a lot of demand to have a train to Bengaluru, and as this train also reduced the travel time, it will be a big advantage for the passengers. We have to make sure that a lot of people get benefited from this train. It needs to be extended up to
Mangaluru Central."

MLA J R Lobo said, "I thank Sadananda Gowda for dedicating Kudla Express to Mangaluru. He is the man behind this mission. It was a long-pending demand to have a day train to Bengaluru, so now this will definitely help people. As there is a huge hike in bus and air transportation, most of the people prefer travelling by train. We will also demand a night train to Bengaluru in the coming days and also, to reduce the travel time so that it will reach Bengaluru in a short duration. This train needs to extend from Mangalore Junction to Mangaluru Central and it is quite possible."

Chief whip of Legislative Council MLC Ivan D'Souza, MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik, mayor Kavita Sanil, president of zilla panchayat Meenakshi Shanthigodu, PRO Gopinath, DRM of Mysuru division Atul Gupta, DRM of Palakkad division Naresh Lalwani, DRM of Konkan Railway Mohammed Asin Sulaimaan, corporatior
Praveen Chandra and others were present.

The train, which will run thrice a week, has a total of 14 compartments, out of which four are second class chair cars. Eight of the compartments will be general second class with two second class luggage-cum-breake vans and compartment for handicapped.

The train No 16576 Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur train leaves from the city at 11.30 am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

The arrival - departure schedule of this train at different stations along the route is as follows:

Bantwal 11.56 - 11.58, Kabaka Puttur 12.20 - 12.22, Subrahmanya Road Station 1.05 pm - 1.10, Sakleshpur 3.35 - 3.45, Hassan 4.45 - 4.50, Chennarayanapatna 5.28-5.30, Shravanabelagola 5.40- 5.42, B G Nagara 6.19 - 6.20, Yediyur 6.34 - 6.35, Kunigal 6.53 - 6.54, Nelamangala 7.39 - 7.40, Chikkabanavara 7.58 - 8.00. The train will reach Yeshwantpur at 8.30 pm.

On its return journey, the train No 16575 leaves Yeshwantpur on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 7.50 am and reach here at 5.30 pm.