Indian Railways: Divided By Zones, United By Railfans - Karthik

By extending Karwar-Mumbai tri-weekly superfast express train (2133/2134) to Mangalore, Minister of State for Railways Mr Muniyappa may sport a feather in his cap. But for the people of Uttara Kannada district this news is far from exciting and brings virtually nothing. This was the only express train originating from Uttara Kannada district, although alas, it was not running to its state capital but to the capital of a neighbouring state. So far there is no direct train link to the state capital Bangalore from Karwar (a district head quarters) or Uttara Kannada, despite the fact that Karwar is a potential tourist destination and has the Sea Bird Naval Base and Kaiga Nuclear establishment in its neigbourhood to boast about. Priority should have been to extend one of the Bangalore-Mangalore trains to Karwar or alternatively to provide a link train between Karwar and Mangalore giving connectivity to Mangalore-Bangalore train(s).
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with the recent extension 2133/2134 pair of trains Uttara Kannada district could get just one more stop (Kumta) over already existing Karwar, where as the Baindoor-Mangalore stretch (of old Dakshin Kannada) has four stops. Already there have been enough trains connecting Mumbai and Mangalore, hence the present extension was not much of a pressing need nor was there any demand for it.
In fact, it would be highly welcome if Railways think of a train with a circular route viz. in either direction in the interest of the tourists and the travelling public.