Delay in rail works irks Dharwad citizenry

Establishment of the South Western Railway Zone and the subsequent shifting of its headquarters to Hubli after a prolonged agitation has not been of much of a help to the people of the region.

The inordinate delay in commissioning the Gadag and Bagalkot broad guage track has come in for severe criticism from the people. The Railway Safety wing has now announced that it will survey the track during in the first week of November and commence the traffic before November 20. But, this assurance does not have many takers and the experience in the past still makes people suspect the commitment of the authorities.

Dharwad, which is 20 km away from Hubli and is a major educational hub, has not benefited from the SWR Zone with its headquarters at Hubli.

The long pending demands of rail users in Dharwad have remained unattended. The citizens of Dharwad had supported the agitation for the establishment of the SWR headquarters at Dharwad. They feel let down by the authorities concerned, including political leadership.

Barring Dharwad North MP Prahlad Joshi, no other elected representative has taken up issues concerning the rail-related facilities to the people of Hubli-Dharwad and the surrounding areas. The citizens are sad that members of the consultative committees have tried to serve their own interests.

The people of Dharwad have been placing before the SWR authorities some genuine demands which do not have any major financial implication. But the SWR authorities have been indifferent.

The major demands include extension of Hubli-Bangalore-Hubli Intercity Express (No 2725/2726), Hubli-Bangalore-Hubli fast passenger (No 586/585) and Hubli-Bangalore Janashatabdi Express (2079/2080) upto Dharwad, stopping of the Vasco-Howrah-Amaravati Express (8047/8048) train at Dharwad, introducing direct train from Hubli to Mumbai and attaching four additional sleeper coaches to Yeshwantpur-Dadar Chalukya Express (1018) to accommodate passengers from Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum.

Member of the SWR station consultative committee member Prahlad Narsapur who has been pursuing the demands with the rail officials feels all demands could be fulfilled easily.

The authorities cite the lack of amenities for cleaning and watering the rakes. They say they need a terminal in Dharwad railway station for all this. They also cite the shortage of tracks and platforms in Dharwad station for accommodating the trains for extending the Hubli-Bangalore-Hubli trains upto Dharwad.

Dharwad railway station has four tracks and three platforms, and most often these are unoccupied. Narsapur says the primary cleaning of the trains could be done at Dharwad and watering could be done at Hubli. The platforms are long enough to accommodate a train with 22 bogies.

Extending these trains upto Dharwad would reduce the pressure on Hubli station besides helping a large number of passengers who travel upto Hubli to catch these trains. “We see platform No. 2 and No. 3 in Hubli station always overcrowded. This can be avoided by starting the trains from Dharwad,” he said.

The Vasco-Howrah-Amaravati train, which was a superfast express, is now a fast express and has no stop at Dharwad.

However, it stops at Savardem in Goa and Londa where there are very few passengers boarding the train. It is pointed out that the train stops at several stations within a range of 30-40 km in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa whereas in Karnataka it has very few stops. The citizens of Dharwad want this train to stop at Dharwad.

A large number of passengers travel from Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum to Mumbai and nearly 40 private buses from this area ply between Hubli and Mumbai charging fares ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 600. The passengers are demanding four additional sleeper coaches to be attached to Yeshwantpur-Dadar Chalukya Express exclusively to accommodate passengers from Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum. The train as of now has 14 coaches including seven sleeper coaches. Attaching another four should not be a problem.