JOIN USBengaluru-Tumakuru electric trains to begin operations from Friday
In a major boost to passengers, electric (MEMU) trains are expected to be run between Bengaluru and Tumakuru starting Friday.
Tumakuru, being a city organically connected to the capital for reasons commercial as well as convenience, has lakhs of people travelling to Bengaluru every day.
The introduction of electric trains is being seen as a game-changer as it will provide an effective and green mobility solution to the daily commuters.
The South Western Railway (SWR) has notified the conversion of two diesel-electric multiple units (DEMU) rakes into electric trains.
The rake of the DEMU special between Bengaluru (SBC) and Arsikere (06273/4) will be replaced with a 17-coach electric train, which will have 15 general and two seating and luggage coaches.
Similarly, two rakes providing two services between Yashwantpur and Tumakuru (06573/06580 and 06571/2) will be replaced with a MEMU train of 16 car composition.
Both trains double the carrying capacity of the existing DEMU trains, allowing about 2600 passengers to travel at a time.
“We wanted to introduce the electric trains in October last year soon after the completion of the Bengaluru-Tumakuru electrification which also received clearance safety. However, in the wake of the third wave and poor patronage, we decided to adopt a calibrated approach,” SWR Chief Public Relations officer Aneesh Hegde said.
To a question, he said the road traffic between Bengaluru and Tumakuru has recovered but the occupancy rate on the trains is poor compared to the pre-Covid numbers. “We need to see if there is a modal shift. We hope that the electric trains will encourage more passengers in the coming days,” he said.
Augmentation
The SWR will enhance the capacity of eight other trains (four rakes) on the route from 12 to 17 coaches. The passenger trains between Shivamogga and Chamarajanagar (07365/6) and Yeshwantpur and Chamarajanagar (07369/07370), the express trains between Arsikere and Mysuru (06213/4) and Shivamogga and Mysuru (06225/6).
‘Best way to decongest B’luru’
Passengers, who regularly commute between Bengaluru and Tumakuru, have been demanding the railways increase the services and diversify the origin/destination stations to enhance connectivity.
T R Raghothama Rao, an activist who was a member of the zonal railway users committee, said the railways’ role in providing an effective solution to Bengaluru’s problem could not be overemphasised.
“Mass rapid transport system that makes Tumakuru a satellite city of Bengaluru is urgently needed to decongest Bengaluru. We have been demanding the railways to install automatic signalling to increase line capacity but officials are yet to take note of it,” he said.
He said railway passengers from Tumakuru, especially employees working in the tech sector, have been demanding a train between 6 and 6.45 am in the morning and a return train from Bengaluru around 7 pm. “The railways should extend the DEMU or MEMU trains to Byappanahalli or Whitefield. That will encourage thousands of people to switch from private vehicles to public transport,” he said.
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