JOIN USMP Nalin Kumar Kateel will flag off the inaugural special, Mangaluru Central-Yeshwantpur tri-weekly express at Mangaluru Central Railway Station on February 21 (11 am).
From February 22, regular services of the train will begin. According to sources, the Railway Ministry was not in a position to arrange a new rake for the newly introduced Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru service and the South Western Railway would have to give one as a temporary measure.
Sources said the train is likely to depart from Yeshwantpur on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. The train would depart from Mangaluru Central railway station on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The earlier proposal was to have services from Yeshwantpur on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday and from Mangaluru on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
West Coast Rail Yatri Abhivriddhi Samiti advisor Anil Hegde said berths from Mangaluru to Bengaluru on Karwar/Kannur-Bengaluru Express were less than 50. The new train thus should be able to cater to the demand from people of Mangaluru, Puttur and Kukke Subrahmanya, he said.