: Nalin Kumar Kateel, the MP representing Dakshina Kannada constituency, has requested the Railways to extend the Howrah-Vasco da Gama (Goa) Amaravathi express to Mangaluru Central and the
Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Maveli express to Kanyakumari.
In letters to General Managers of South Eastern Railway (SER), Kolkata and Southern Railway, Chennai, he pointed out that rakes of these two trains had a lie-over period (of more than 16 hours for Amaravathi Express and 12 hours for Maveli Express) that could be utilised to enhance connectivity to and from Mangaluru.
There was no direct train connectivity between the Karnataka coast and Kolkata but for the weekly train between Mangaluru and Santragachi (Howrah) which took a circuitous route, he said in the letter to the SER general manager.
"A large number of people from the north eastern regions have developed connections with coastal Karnataka for education, industry and trade," he said.
He suggested that the Amaravathi Express, that reaches Vasco da Gama at 3.05 pm and remains idle till it leaves the next day morning, be extended to Mangaluru Central where its secondary maintenance could be done.
The Maveli express, which remains idle at Thiruvananthapuram Central from 7.05 am to 7.30 pm, might be extended to Kanyakumari to benefit more passengers, he said in the letter to Southern Railway general manager.
