The Hindu Business Line : Bangalore, Mangalore train service from Dec 8

The much-delayed passenger direct train service between Bangalore and Mangalore has finally been given a green signal, with simultaneous inauguration scheduled for December 8. The decision comes in the wake of the Railway Safety Commissioner giving clearance to the services. The train will run via Hassan.

Earlier, the service was scheduled to be inaugurated between November 20 and 25.

Official sources said that the Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, is expected to flag off the train from Bangalore. The President of All India Congress Committee and Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, Ms Sonia Gandhi, will also be present on the occasion.

Long wait

The Mangalore-Yeshwantpur train and the corresponding service from Yeshwantpur will take about 12 hours to reach their respective destinations and will leave at 8 p.m. on December 8.

Though freight traffic had commenced operations on the 332 km- route between Mangalore and Bangalore from June, after the track conversion in 2003, passenger service had to wait due to safety concern as parts of the route is prone to landslides.

Bangalore and Hassan had been connected by a broad gauge rail link for long, but the connection link, the 160 km Hassan-Mangalore route, had to wait for the safety clearance long after the gauge conversion.