Angry commuters protest railways' lack of punctuality

Hundreds of commuters staged a flash protest at Anekal Road railway station on Thursday alleging lack of punctuality of the Yeshwantpur-Hosur DEMU train.

Suhas Narayana Murthy, a techie who launched an online campaign seeking more frequent trains on the route last year, said the diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU) train has failed to follow a fixed schedule, affecting nearly 1,500 regular commuters, most of them techies.

“The train usually arrives 25 to 30 minutes late but then you can’t bank on that. Those who come 20 minutes late have missed the train as the train will run on time or is only 10 minutes late on that day,” he said.

Protesters said despite several complaints to the divisional railway manager and other senior officials, there has been no effort to fix the gaps. “On Thursday, the anger was palpable as many commuters who are part of a group on Telegram (a social media app) shared their concerns and decided to protest,” Suhas said.

“We, passengers of (train number) 06592, face constant delay in arrival/departure of the train and also other trains that run through Hosur-Anekal-Carmelram line. This has resulted in us losing our work hours and ultimately (affecting) our salary and jobs. We sincerel y request the railways to operate the train on time,” a memorandum submitted to the Anekal Road station master read.

Suburban rail gets push from rly board

The much-anticipated suburban railway project got a shot in the arm on Thursday as the Railway Board approved two proposals from the state government, seen as the first crucial step in the Rs 10,000-crore project.

The state government had requested conversion of 15 existing passenger trains into MEMUs (mainline electric multiple units) at a cost of Rs 327 crore and enhancement of maintenance facilities for MEMUs at Banaswadi, estimated to cost Rs 29.45 crore.

MEMUs save time spent on changing the locomotive. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for reversing the locomotive every time a train reaches the terminal station. A MEMU, on the other hand, doesn't require changing of the locomotive as it can run in both directions (push-pull).

The Railway Board notes that the project will be taken up on 80:20 cost sharing basis with the major burden falling on the state government. The project will be implemented by the Railways instead of the special purpose vehicle, which is still in the pipeline.

Further, the Board states that two of the nine MEMU rakes needed for converting the passenger trains will be provided in 2018-19.