Mangalore-Bangalore train service from saturday

MANGALORE: After a gap of 11 years, train services between Mangalore and Bangalore will resume from saturday with Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav flagging off a special train to Yeshwantpur on the newly converted broad-gauge line.

The train services were stopped during September 1996 for the gauge conversion work.

The inaugural special train will leave here at 1 pm and reach Yeshvanthpur at 12.55 am.

The regular Mangalore-Bangalore Express will leave here at 7.45 pm and reach Yeshvathpur at 7.40 am the next day, passing through Kankanadi, Kabaka-Puttur, Subramanya-road, Sakaleshpur, Hassan, K.R. Nagar, Mysore and Bangalore City.

In the return direction, the train would leave Yeshwanthpur at 8.35 pm and arrive here at 8.05 am next day.

The route offers nature lovers a memorable journey with the scenic beauty of the Western Ghats on one side and deep valleys on the other side in the 55-km long ghat section between Subramanya Road and Sakaleshpur.

There are around 670 bridges, including 91 major ones, and the ghat section has 110 curves and as many as 57 tunnels with the longest one being of 578 metres.

Though Yadav had announced operation of two train services between Mangalore-Bangalore -- one via Mysore and the other via Arsikere, now only one train via Mysore would be run.

There is a demand from various quarters, including political leaders, for running services through Arsikere, which will shorten the journey time by two hours.

Karnataka Governor Rameshwara Thakur will be the chief Guest of the function tomorrow while Minister of State for Railways R Velu will preside over. A host of leaders, including former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, will attend the function.