Hoodi station opens, offers quicker, cheaper travel option to city

For thousands of techies and locals, the commuting time to the city would be cut drastically with the inauguration of the Hoodi halt railway station on Thursday. Train services from this station, located between KR Puram and Whitefield, would be a convenient alternative to the congested Outer Ring Road, in the absence of Metro connectivity.

Seven passenger trains in both directions will halt at the station. Towards Bangarpet, two trains (56510 and 66530) pass in the morning, four passenger trains in the afternoon (76507, 66532, 76505 and 56508) and one in the evening (66534).

Similarly, there are three trains heading towards Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) station, Bengaluru, between 8 am and 9 am (56507, 66529 and 76506), two more trains in the afternoon (66531 and 56509) and two in the evening (76508 and 66533).

These DEMU and MEMU passenger trains connect Bengaluru (KSR, Baiyappanahalli and Cantonment) to Bangarapet, Kolar, Marikuppam and Kuppam. This will significantly reduce the travel time and is also the cheapest mode of transport.

MP PC Mohan had sanctioned Rs 2.86 crore under his MPLAD funds to upgrade the halt into a full-fledged railway station with a ticketing counter, platforms and shelters. Of this, Rs 1.12 crore has been earmarked for the construction of a skywalk that connects both platforms.

On the inaugural day, Mohan promised Rs 1 crore from the MPLAD funds for one more halt station at Doddenakundi, which was another long-pending demand of the locals. He blamed the state government for not showing enough interest in the suburban project despite support from the Union government.

Meanwhile, MLA Aravind Limbavali urged the BBMP to fund the skywalk at Carmelaram railway station and six rail overbridges in Mahadevapura zone. Sanjiv Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, South Western Railway (SWR) was present. 

Sanjeev Dyamannavar, who played an important role in pushing the project, said the train stoppage in Hoodi will come in handy during the construction of the Metro from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield. People can reach the city in 10 minutes using the train, while it takes an hour or more by road, he added.

Whitefield Rising urged the government to increase DEMU and MEMU train services on this stretch and stoppage of express trains at Whitefield station.