Wednesday brought good news for railway commuters travelling between Ramanagaram and Bengaluru with a special DEMU (Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit) train chugging out for them.
But another demand on similar lines for a commuter rail project along Whitefield is yet to see the light of the day.
Citizens campaigning for it had recently written to P.C. Mohan, Bengaluru Central MP, demanding a railway station at Hoodi Halt.
“It is been more than a few months since you promised to fund the railway station in an official announcement in November 2014. We made you aware about the difficulty of commuting to Whitefield. We requested you to extend the Ramanagaram MEMU train to Whitefield, but the train is yet to be operational,” they had said.
The Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) too renewed its demand for the Nelamangala–Yeswantpur DEMU train to be extended to Whitefield or Bangarpet.
However, Mr. Mohan said he had already given MP funds of Rs. 1.76 crore to the Railways to start work on Hoodi Halt, near Prestige Shantiniketan at Whitefield.
Sanjeev Agarwal, DRM, South Western Railways said the MP had written to them asking for the possibility of introducing a Yeswantpur–Whitefield train.
“As of now, there is no such train. We are examining the possibility as they have demanded trains in the morning and evening. These routes are already crowded during those hours,” he said. He added that the railways is awaiting release of the MP funds from the District Collector to start work on the railway station at Hoodi.
MP says he has
given funds to the Railways to start
work on Hoodi Halt
