The Yeshwantpur railway station is facing a crunch situation as its train traffic has been increasing every year while its terminal capacity has remained unchanged for over a decade.
Handling an average of 88 trains daily, the station seems to have reached the saturation point.
Adding to the woes of the passengers is the reduction in the train stoppage times to make way for passage of more trains on the six platforms at the station.
“Ever since the station was conceived it has been was expanded only once in 2001. Since then the capacity has remained unchanged. Every year, an average of three terminating trains are added to the station.
“Not only does this add to the staff workload but also to passenger problems as trains now halt for shorter duration, to accommodate more trains. Station staff today are toiling under tremendous pressure due to the increasing train traffic, and the number of platforms being limited to six compounds the situation,” sources at the station said.
In the railway budget, expansion of the train terminal capacity gets very little mention. The budget proposal focus more on introduction of new trains, commented a Railway official.
Inaccessibility to the station remains a major complaint with passengers. Rohit Paalgadu, a Machilipatnam bound commuter, said “ The bus stand on Tumkur road is 500 meters from the station entrance. The road and the footpath are in a pathetic condition. We would prefer an entrance at the bus stop itself.”
The station also lacks public utilities. Three of the six platforms do not have toilets and the existing ones are poorly maintained. Lack of enough waiting rooms add to the problem.
Byappanahalli station
Division Railway Manager Anil K Agarwal said buildings with added facilities will come up on the station by the beginning of October this year. Admitting that the station was packed to capacity, Agarwal said another two or three terminating trains are likely to be added to the station. As there is no adequate land on either side of the station, there is hardly any scope for expansion. Despite little progress in obtaining land for expansion of Byappanahalli railway station, the Railways seem to be pinning their hopes on it. “There is a masterplan on the anvil to move all the additional trains to Byappanahalli station,” Agarwal said.