Bengaluru–Mangaluru/Karwar day train cancellation during peak Dasara travel season upsets many

South Western Railway's cancellation of day train services on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru/Karwar route for 26 round trips during the peak Dasara travel season has sparked discontent among commuters and passenger associations. The decision to block the line between Siribagilu and Yedakumari stations for track maintenance and engineering works between October 4 and November 4, excluding a brief respite between October 16 and October 20, has affected thousands of passengers traveling to coastal Karnataka for Navaratri festivities and Mysuru Dasara.

G. Hanumanth Kamath, president of Paschima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samiti, questioned the need to carry out such crucial maintenance during the busiest travel season, suggesting that the Railway could have scheduled the works during weekdays or in the following month when demand would be lower. Mysuru Divisional Railway Manager Mudit Mittal explained that the ballast tamping work was overdue, but assured that train services would still run during the Dasara week.

Indeed, trains 16575 and 16576 Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction Gomateshwara Express, as well as trains 16515 and 16516 Yeshwantpur-Karwar and Karwar-Yeshwantpur Express, were all cancelled on various dates during the specified period.