The announcement made by Minister of State for Railways R Velu, that the Mangalore-Bangalore passenger train will start in the first fortnight of November, will remain just another promise, as the Railway Ministry has not given the green signal yet.

After the announcement made by Mr Velu that the train would run in November, the Railways intensified their activities to ensure the services.

Railway Board member (traffic) V N Verma travelled on the special train a couple of weeks ago. The observations made by  him were attended to by the South Western Railway authorities.

With just five days, the authorities are hoping against hopes that Railway Minister Lalu Prasad will show the green signal for the train journey before November 15.

A senior officer in the South Western Railway said, “We have done our bit. Tracks are ready to run the passenger train. Probably the Board officials want the Railway Minister to flag off the train.”