Pamban Sethu - இது தான் நம்முடைய ராமர் சேது - Darnish C

With the extension work of platforms completed,
passengers are demanding stoppages for long-distance mail and express
trains at Byappanahalli railway station.
Currently, 40 trains — mostly suburban and short-distance services with a maximum of 19 coaches — stop at Byappanahalli as the platforms were shorter. With the platforms expanded, express and superfast trains with 24 coaches can halt at the station.
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Western Railway (SWR) officials said they have proposed stoppages for 12627/12628 Bengaluru-New Delhi Karnataka
Daily Express and 12509/12510 Bengaluru Cantonment-Guwahati Tri-weekly Express at Byappanahalli station.
The demand is getting louder with the terminals of several Kerala-bound trains shifted from Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna
(Bengaluru City) and Yeshwantpur stations to Banaswadi. Many rail passengers are citing proximity to Byappanahalli Metro
station in support of their demand for stoppage of more trains.
TP Lokesh, a member of Karnataka Railway Vedike, said, “Stoppage of long-distance trains will be a relief for many passengers.
This will reduce crowding at the KSR and Yeshwantpur stations.”
Meanwhile, a third coaching terminal at Byappanahalli aimed at de-congesting City and Yeshwantpur stations, is nearing
completion.
SWR chief public relations officer E Vijaya said they will shift more trains to Byappanahalli after the commissioning of the new
coaching terminal. “Phase 1 of the coaching terminal is likely to be commissioned in July and final phase by December,” she
added.

The state government has sanctioned Rs 20 crore for the construction of Rail Over Bridge (ROB) at Carmelaram
railway station, a long-pending dream of residents living in and around the track.
During allocation of funds for various grade separator projects in the city, the government this year included the
construction of ROB at Carmelaram-Bangalore Salem Railway line.
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of Carmelaram and Sarjapur have been protesting against the traffic snarls, especially, during peak
hours.
BM has been writing about the issue for the last several years.
Deepankar Patnaik, a Carmelaram resident said, “Now, at last, some ray of hope has come after the government
has accepted our long-pending request. We hope that the work for the ROB begins soon and we get relief soon.”
Rizwan Arshad, Congress MLC, said, “Residents have been suffering for the last few years. We have approached
many people, but nothing worked so far. In fact, we pushed the plan to the Urban Development and ensured that
the government releases the fund for the ROB. This was approved by the government in the recent cabinet
meeting in their action plan. Also, Munnekolala ROB has also been sanctione, which is between Carmelaram
and Baiyapanahalli Railway station. This is on the same Bangalore-Salem Railway Line.”
Arshad said that the South Western Railway can now progress its work as planned and they are expecting a
speedy work which is to be completed by year-end. Recently, even the BBMP too had released funds for the
extension of the road in front of the station. This was after railway officials said that the road should be extended
to expand the railway gate. There was also a fund that was released by MP PC Mohan from his MPLAD fund
(Rs 16 lakh) to widen the road.

But critics say train timings not suitable for office-goers
The South Western Railway (SWR) on Sunday launched a new DEMU train service between Banaswadi and Whitefield.
It will arrive at Whitefield at 7.50 a.m. and reach Banaswadi at 8.30 a.m., with halts at Hoodi, Krishnarajapuram and Baiyappanahalli. In the evening, it will leave Banaswadi at 6.25 p.m. to reach Whitefield at 7.20 p.m.
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new train service, which has been criticised as a “pre-poll gimmick” will be available six days a week, expect on Sundays.
When SWR first announced the service last week, it was severely criticised as the timings do not cater to office-goers who need to reach Whitefield in the morning.
Commuters argued for a service in the reverse direction as well during peak hours and said that it should be extended till Yeshwanthpur.
However, the SWR officials maintain that it will see a lot of traction among commuters in the coming days.
Divisional Railway Manager R.S. Saxena said, “Just before Swarna Passenger arrives from Marikuppam, the platform at Whitefield is packed. Around 2,000 to 3,000 people get down at Whitefield from Swarna Passenger while almost 1,500 board it. The new train will help decongest the platform and address the rush. This train also halts at Baiyappanahlli where people can use the metro to reach other destinations in the city.”
On the demand to extend the train till Yesvantpur or other points, the official said the Yesvantpur station is choked as 100 trains operate from the point.
Member of Parliament, P.C. Mohan attacked the State government accusing it of not taking the suburban rail project seriously.
“They have put 19 conditions, they should have one more condition by saying that they do not want suburban project. Decongestion of traffic will happen only when there are multi-modes of transport.”

12.2-km rail track renewal between Payyannur and Cheruvathur
Sleeper renewal work on the railway track between Payyannur and Cheruvathur using the track renewal train (TRT machine) has been completed in record time.
The Palakkad Division of the Railway set a record by completing the track renewal on the 12.235-km stretch of the track, officials said.
Regular renewal
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sleeper renewal work between Payyannur and Cheruvathur was started on December 11 and completed on January 10. The works had been sanctioned as part of regular renewals on age-cum-condition basis, they said.
The division officials said in the current financial year, the Palakkad Division had secured sanction for 25 km sleeper renewal work by using the TRT machine. The work involves replacement of all sleepers and fittings as also packing of ballast along with dynamic track stabilisation using tie tamping and vibrating machines.
According to the officials, the sleeper renewal work is a multidisciplinary work involving the coordination of the engineering staff of permanent way, signal, over-head electric traction, mechanical and staff of operating departments.
Punctuality
Sleeper renewal will be helpful in restoring the speed of 110 kmph, they said adding that the works have already improved the punctuality.After the completion of the entire renewal works, the punctuality will improve further, they added.
The quality of work done by the help of the machine is better as compared to manual replacement and the time required is one-fourth to one-fifth of what manual replacement requires. Since the traffic on this section is heavy, some trains had to be regulated to get a clear traffic block of 4 hours duration, they said adding that passengers and the public were informed in advance through the media about the regulation services.

Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan on Sunday assured that train services from Banaswadi to Whitefield will be introduced shortly. He was responding to a query on the criticism received from all quarters that the new train service between these stations was being launched in the wrong direction as it would fail to cater to the huge IT crowd heading towards Whitefield for work.
He was speaking before flagging of a new Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) service between Whitefield and Banaswadi from platform two of Baiyappanahalli railway station.
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were on board the eight-coach Whitefield-Banaswadi DEMU Special which was flagged off at 10.20am, 50 minutes behind the scheduled departure. While the train has a seating capacity of 804, a maximum of 2,412 passengers can be accommodated. The train will leave Whitefield at 7.50am and arrive at Banaswadi at 8.30am. It will leave Banaswadi at 6.25pm and reach Whitefield at 7.20 pm. It will halt at Hoodi Halt, Krishnarajapuram and Baiyappanahalli and will run on all days except Sundays.
The timings received wide criticism, particularly from IT employees, with many saying that there was no point in introducing a train running towards Banaswadi from Whitefield in the morning. However, Mohan said, “I have asked Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) to introduce another service that will depart from Banaswadi to Whitefield in the morning and it will take place soon.”
The DRM said that traffic at various stations had been assessed before taking a decision to run the train in this direction.” The idea behind this train is to take the load off the Swarna Passenger (Marikuppam to Bengaluru City). When it enters Whitefield around 8am, the platform is fully crowded. They can now opt for this train,” he said. The crucial aspect is that the train stops at Baiyappanahalli. “Passengers can alight there and take the Metro to different parts of the city,”he said.
The idea behind the DEMU is to provide connectivity to Bypanahalli