16518 Kannur - Bangalore Express running time can be reduced by 5 hours.
At present there are only two daily direct trains from Kannur to Bangalore and many buses operate in this route. Both trains reach Bangalore after 8am while all the buses reach there between 5am and 6am. For employees and other office goers, It is not possible to reach office in time after freshening up if one is going by train. Hence those who need to attend offices the same day are forced to go by buses considering the immensely heavy morning traffic in the city.
If...
more... a train reaches Bangalore in the early hours it will greatly benefit passengers, it will get more patronage.
The train no: 16528 from Kannur to Bangalore via Shornur running a total of 660kms reaches its destination in 14 hours whereas the 16518 running via Mangalore, though covering only 580 kms, takes 15 hours 40 minutes. 80 kms less in distance but 100 minutes more in time.
Why?
The 16518 train
1.on its way stays at Mangalore central for more than two hours waiting for the piece coming from Karwar for a combined onward journey to Bangalore
2. requires engine reversals at three places viz.Mangalore central, Hassan Jn and Mysore Jn.
3.speed restrictions at ghat section between Subrahmanya road and Hassan
But there are new possibilities now.
What are they?
1. A new railway line between Hassan and Bangalore is opened reducing the distance by 85 km. The present route via Mysore from Hassan is 260km long and the Kannur train takes 5hrs 20 minutes to cover this distance. The newly opened route from Hassan via Shravanabalagloa to Bangalore is only 175km long and the Gomateswar Express takes just 2hr 45 minutes in this stretch.
2. Rerouting 16518 through this line will reduce travel time and also the train will reach Bangalore in the early hours helping passengers to reach their places well before traffic rush.
Due to time reduction and early arrival advantage, there will be more passengers.
So, what can be done?
1.At present 16518 Kannur – Bangalore Express and 16524 Karwar- Bangalore train are combined at Mangalore Central and proceed further to Bangalore as a single train.
These two trains can be split as two. The Karwar train will stick to present route and timing so that people going to Mysore are benefitted. Those from Kannur to Mysore can also catch this as connection train from Mangalore Jn if Kannur train arrives earlier
2.The 16518 will not go to Mangalore central and proceed directly to Mangalore Junction to save time. If it sticks to the present departure time from Kannur(4.40pm), it can depart from Mangalore Jn (bypassing Central) by 7.05 pm . Will reach Hassan by 12.45am. Departing Hassan at 1am , it can reach Bangalore by 3.45am if it goes through Shravanabalagola. Compared to Mysore route , there is hardly any traffic through this newly opened line.
3.In the return direction, the departure timings can be: Bangalore 7.00pm, Hassan 10.00pm, Mangalore Jn 4.00am and Kannur 6.30am
