Demand for change of Bengaluru-Dharmapuri train

By NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Commuters and railway activities have demanded that the South Western Railways (SWR) modify timings of the day train service between Bengaluru and Dharmapuri. The commuters are complaining that the departure and arrival timings of day trains are not convenient to the travelling public and, hence, they should be revised.

Train No. 06577, Bengaluru to Dharmapuri daily passenger special leave KSR (Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station) at 7.30 a.m. to reach Dharmapuri Junction at 10.45 am.

Speaking to News Trail, Umamageswaran, Railway activist, said, “The train starting at 7 am from Bengaluru is somehow flexible for Bengaluru commuters, but we demand that the same train be run from Dharmapuri to Bengaluru at the same time. Because we have many commuters from Hosur, Dharmapuri and Saleem who travel for theie daily work, so we have requested the SWR to extend the Bengaluru to Dharmapuri till Salem and Saleem to Bengaluru in return run at the same time”.

According to reports, Bengaluru to Dharmapuri daily passenger MEMU has a huge passenger crowd with 1,500 plus passengers using to travel daily. Major parts of Tamil Nadu are accessed via this route to enter Bengaluru. If there was no State border just before Hosur, it would have almost merged into Bengaluru’s urban sprawl.

Also, there has been a longpending demand of doubling this line, which finally got a Budget approval in 2016-2017 with 374 Cr and work started in 2019. On the Byappanahalli-Hosur corridor, the SWR claims the doubling of Carmelaram-Heelalige section will be commissioned later this year, followed by Heelalige-Anekal, CarmelaramBellandur, Anekal-Hosur and Byappanahalli-Bellandur.