MLC wants proposed Goa-Bengaluru-Goa Vande Bharat train to operate via Mangaluru Central instead of Mangaluru Junction

P.V. Mohan, MLC, on Wednesday, requested the Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna to retain Mangaluru Central Railway Station as a scheduled halt for the proposed extension of the existing Mangaluru Central–Madgaon (Goa)-Mangaluru Central Vande Bharat Express to Yesvantpur in Bengaluru.

It may be mentioned here that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on September 29 revealed that the Ministry will introduce a Vande Bharat Express between Yesvantpur and Madgaon via Mangaluru Junction Railway Station, instead of Mangaluru Central.

In letters to coastal Karnataka MPs Captain Brijesh Chowta, Kota Srinivas Poojary, and Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Mr. Vaishnaw said that the existing Train No. 20646/645 Mangaluru Central – Madgaon – Mangaluru Central VB Express will be extended to Yesvantpur.

Mr. Mohan in his letter to Mr. Somanna said that the extension of the service to Bengaluru is a welcome decision and will significantly strengthen connectivity between Bengaluru, coastal Karnataka and Goa. “However, it is important that this extension should not result in Mangaluru Central being bypassed,” he said.

The MLC said that Mangaluru Central is presently the terminal station of the Mangaluru–Madgaon-Mangaluru Vande Bharat service. The proposed extension is essentially an extension of this existing service, and therefore the existing passenger connectivity between Mangaluru Central and Goa should be preserved.

Retaining Mangaluru Central as a scheduled halt would also provide considerable passenger benefits. Passengers arriving at Mangaluru Central from Kerala and other parts of southern India would be able to conveniently interchange and travel onwards to Bengaluru or Goa. This would increase accessibility, improve patronage and enhance the commercial viability of the service, the letter said.

“Any marginal additional running time involved in serving Mangaluru Central would, in my view, be fully justified by these substantial passenger and regional connectivity benefits,” Mr. Mohan said.

The extension to Yesvantpur should add a new dimension to the service without taking away the existing connectivity enjoyed by passengers of Mangaluru and the coastal region, he said.