Setback to flyers: 20 trains to Bengaluru airport cancelled for 15 days

The railways has cancelled 10 pairs of trains that connected the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) with the city centre and suburbs.

The South Western Railway (SWR) cited poor patronage for the decision. The trains — all MEMU express specials — will be cancelled from June 1 to 3, 5 to 10 and 12 to 17.

The trains are 06531 KSR Bengaluru-Devanahalli; 06532 Devanahalli-KSR Bengaluru; 06533 Devanahalli-Yelahanka; 06534 Yelahanka-Kempegowda International Airport Halt; 06535 Devanahalli-Bengaluru Cantonment; 06536 Bengaluru Cantonment-Devanahalli; 06537 Devanahalli-Bengaluru Cantonment; 06538 Bengaluru Cantonment-Devanahalli; 06539 Devanahalli-Yelahanka, and 06540 Yelahanka-Devanahalli.

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The trains were an affordable option for reaching the airport. Travellers were charged Rs 30, just a fraction of what cab rides to the airport cost. However, the location of the railway station and the odd timings of the trains drew travellers away.

Located on the Yelahanka-Chikkaballapur line, the halt station is about 3.5 kilometres from the airport. KIA authorities run a free bus shuttle service to the airport.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the halt station last year and called for running more trains through it. He also ordered a feasibility study to double the line and introduce automatic signalling.

Kusuma Hariprasad, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Administration), Bengaluru, said average occupancy on the trains was a measly 4 per cent. Each train had eight coaches with a seating capacity of 70 each.

“There will be just 10-12 people in one coach. On some days, we ran empty trains,” she said.

She dismissed suggestions that the train frequency wasn’t synced with flight timings.

“We fixed the schedule by talking to the airport authorities and ran more trains. But occupancy didn’t improve,” she said.