<p>It was birthday bells for ‘Namma train’ on Friday morning, as the Tumakuru-Bengaluru Fast Passenger chugged into the railway station, florally decked up for the grand occasion. The stage was set for a sumptuous cake-cutting ceremony for a train like no other.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For hundreds of passengers lined up under the Tumakuru-Bengaluru Railway Prayanikara Vedike, a travellers’ forum, the train was their long-cherished baby. It was the product of their struggle for a convenient rail commute option to the state capital.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Five years ago, on August 3, 2013, the Namma train had begun operations in an emphatic fashion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The excitement at the Tumakuru railway station on Friday echoed that first-day euphoria.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The sense of pride and nostalgia was palpable.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As loco pilot Neel Kumar Nag cut the grand cake, the applause was deafening. Gathered to celebrate were senior railway officers, railway police staffers, Vedike office-bearers and passengers in their teeming hundreds. Decorated with flowers, every coach of the train appeared to join in the celebration.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Vedike has never missed marking the train’s birthday ever since the operations began.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Its honorary president, B M Ramakumari, offered this perspective: “The commuters of this train are a close community now. Over the past five years, they have developed a strong bond. In the history of the Indian Railways, it is the only train celebrating a birthday.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Till 2013, thousands of Bengaluru-bound passengers in Tumakuru had no choice beyond the Solapur Express.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When the railways advanced timings of this train to 6.30 am in June 2013, the troubled passengers desperately looked for alternatives.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The second train at 7.20 am was not really a choice since it was always heavily crowded. Commuters approached the then railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge and the railway authorities, seeking a separate train.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To their surprise, the request was approved within one month and the new service chugged in a few weeks later.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The train has now emerged as a lifeline for thousands. Departing from the Tumakuru station at 8.15 am, it arrives at 9.45 am at the city’s Yeshwanthpur station. Passengers could not recollect a single day when the train arrived late.</p>
<p>It was birthday bells for ‘Namma train’ on Friday morning, as the Tumakuru-Bengaluru Fast Passenger chugged into the railway station, florally decked up for the grand occasion. The stage was set for a sumptuous cake-cutting ceremony for a train like no other.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For hundreds of passengers lined up under the Tumakuru-Bengaluru Railway Prayanikara Vedike, a travellers’ forum, the train was their long-cherished baby. It was the product of their struggle for a convenient rail commute option to the state capital.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Five years ago, on August 3, 2013, the Namma train had begun operations in an emphatic fashion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The excitement at the Tumakuru railway station on Friday echoed that first-day euphoria.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The sense of pride and nostalgia was palpable.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As loco pilot Neel Kumar Nag cut the grand cake, the applause was deafening. Gathered to celebrate were senior railway officers, railway police staffers, Vedike office-bearers and passengers in their teeming hundreds. Decorated with flowers, every coach of the train appeared to join in the celebration.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Vedike has never missed marking the train’s birthday ever since the operations began.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Its honorary president, B M Ramakumari, offered this perspective: “The commuters of this train are a close community now. Over the past five years, they have developed a strong bond. In the history of the Indian Railways, it is the only train celebrating a birthday.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Till 2013, thousands of Bengaluru-bound passengers in Tumakuru had no choice beyond the Solapur Express.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When the railways advanced timings of this train to 6.30 am in June 2013, the troubled passengers desperately looked for alternatives.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The second train at 7.20 am was not really a choice since it was always heavily crowded. Commuters approached the then railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge and the railway authorities, seeking a separate train.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To their surprise, the request was approved within one month and the new service chugged in a few weeks later.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The train has now emerged as a lifeline for thousands. Departing from the Tumakuru station at 8.15 am, it arrives at 9.45 am at the city’s Yeshwanthpur station. Passengers could not recollect a single day when the train arrived late.</p>