JOIN USPeople sceptical of new line to Kolar
There are hardly any takers for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposed new lines to Kolar, given the shoddy track record of the railway work in the district.
People of the district are sceptical about the implementation of the new projects because the earlier sanctioned projects are yet to see the light of the day.
There is to be a new line from Kolar to Bangalore. A new train will now traverse between Marikuppam and Bangarpet too. Most of all, Kolar district has the uniqueness of having one of only four new railway coach factories in the country.
While all such developments no doubt brought smiles on the faces of Kolar residents, the work of changing the gauge of the only line between Kolar and Chikkaballapur, which came to a halt several years ago, tempered down the joy.
The people are still sceptic about developments in the railway line in the district when authorities turn a blind eye to an old, unfinished one.
Funds have been approved in the Railway Budget for the line between Kolar and Whitefield.
Passengers, however, are demanding that the line be extended till Bangalore Central
The new train connection between Kolar and Bangalore has given rise to several questions. The push-pull train, which is currently used in the Kolar Station, lacks basic facilities.
Also, it travels only till Bangalore Cantonment Station and not till the Central Station.
The residents of Kolar had complained even during the last budget that the Union Minister of State for Railways, K H Muniyappa, who has been representing Kolar in the Lok Sabha for more than two-and-a-half decades, should notice this fact and take measures to improve the facility.
In addition, the current train leaves Kolar Station at 7.15 am and reaches Bangalore Cantonment at 9.45 am. In the evening, it starts from Bangalore at 5.55 and reaches Kolar at 8.20 pm.
An afternoon journey has been allotted for the train only recently. It travels between Bangalore Cantonment and Bangarpet from 11 am to 1 pm. It returns to Bangalore starting from Bangarpet at 3 pm and reaches Bangalore Cantonment at 5.15 pm.
Questions galore
The main question, repeated several times by several travelers, is whether the new train from Kolar will reach Bangalore Central Station.
If the Railway Department nods in concurrence, the people in Kolar will rejoice. If it is a shake of the head by the officials, it will only be disappointment again.
The passengers have also complained about the inconvenient timings of the train currently connecting Kolar to Bangalore. The time of departure has only advanced by 15 minutes, from the earlier 7.30 am. The requests given by the travelers to change the timings have not received any response so far.
All these factors have only sowed seeds of skepticism in the minds of the residents of Kolar about the new train.