Stalled goods rake delays trains on Bengaluru-Mysuru route due to technical glitch

Bengaluru: Inbound train traffic from Mysuru was delayed by several hours on Wednesday after a goods rake stalled near Nayandahalli, West Bengaluru, due to a "technical glitch". 

The Mysuru-Chennai Shatabdi Express (train number 12008), Rajya Rani Express (20659), Kacheguda Express (12786), Gol Gumbaz Express (16535), Cuddalore Port Express (16232) and Chamarajanagar-Tirupati Express (16219) were among the trains that encountered delays of up two hours. 

The Shatabdi Express, one of the fastest between Mysuru and Chennai, departed from its originating station on schedule at 2.15 pm. However, around 4 pm, it stopped in its tracks after reaching Nayandahalli, a small station located 7 km west of KSR Bengaluru. 

A senior official in the Bengaluru railway division explained that a technical glitch in a goods train blocked the Mysuru-Bengaluru railway line. Railway authorities attended to the situation and cleared the line, the official said, without explaining the nature of the technical glitch. 

Among the passengers was Congress leader Brijesh Kalappa. 

He suggested that the Shatabdi Express had stalled after its engine failed. "Any point in paying for premium train journeys in the Indian Railways or do we have to feel grateful if the destination reached," he wrote on X. 

The train finally reached KSR Bengaluru at 6.09 pm, two hours behind its scheduled departure of 4.10 pm. The train is unlikely to make up for lost time and is expected to reach Chennai only at 11 pm, as against the scheduled time of 9.30 pm. 

There is not much progress on the demand for building a bypass line for goods trains on the Mysuru-Bengaluru route. 

The Mysuru-Bengaluru railway line has two tracks but there is no dedicated line for the movement of goods trains. The railways plan to build two more tracks on this route to meet the future traffic requirements.