Rail service to Hubballi, Shivamogga evokes tepid response

The Janshatabdi Express to Hubballi was one of the first among the 200 special trains that began operations across the country on Monday though the low number of passengers indicated that normalcy is still far off.

The train (02079) left KSR Bengaluru station at 6 am with 120 passengers on board against the capacity of 934. It reached Hubballi at 1.06 pm. Only 157 of 197 passengers who had booked ticket, travelled in the return train (02080), which left Hubballi at 2.20 pm. It was the only train that arrived in Bengaluru.

The other intra-state train left Yeshwantpur to Shivamogga (02080) with 109 passengers on board. However, the railway officials are expecting the number of passengers to go up in the coming days. “The numbers may increase as the word spreads on the availability of train services. The fear of coronavirus may be preventing people from travelling but many will jump on board eventually,” a senoir official said.

In comparison, the inter-state trains had higher number of passengers. The train to Danapur (Bihar) left KSR Bengaluru with 859 passengers (1131 had reserved berths in the train).

All the 366 berths were booked in the Hubballi-H Nizamuddin Link Express which departed later in the day. At Hubballi, 132 passengers boarded the train.

Another SWR train to New Delhi left from Vasco Da Gama at 3 pm. Of the total 1084 berths, 1076 were reserved.

Only passengers with confirmed tickets are allowed to board trains as long as they do not have Covid-19 symptoms. Passengers shall reach the station at least 90 minutes in advance to facilitate thermal screening and wear face covers or masks. The railways has stopped providing blanket or bed roll in the trains.