Baiyappanahalli Yard work to hit rail services

The railways’ decision to cancel four trains, including two suburban services to Hosur, for nearly a month from May 4 to 31 has not gone down well with passengers and rail activists who pointed out that thousands of passengers will be denied affordable transport.

The South Western Railway on Thursday said that the remodelling work at Baiyappanahalli Yard requries cancellation of Bangalore Cantonment-Vijayawada trains (56503/56504), Banaswadi-Hosur trains 06571/06572 and 06573/06574 as well as the Whitefield-Banaswadi trains (06577/06578). The railways has partially cancelled four other trains.

The cancellation of suburban trains to Hosur drew sharp reactions from tech sector employees in the East, who took to social media to question the decision. “Here we are complaining against the erratic timings of the Hosur train but they cancel the trains altogether. What about hundreds of people who plan their day depending on the train?” Praveen Patel posted on Twitter.

Transport activist Sanjeev Dyamannavar said the Vijayawada passenger train via Guntakal enjoyed huge popularity and had a ridership of up to 4,000 per day. “The train was of great help to the poor. The railways should have found alternative ways to run the train instead of cancelling it,” he said.

DRM Ashok Kumar Verma said he would look into the issue. “The work on Baiyappanhalli Yard is aimed at enhancing train services, including suburban services, within existing infrastructure. It would not be possible to run Hosur trains on that route,” he said.