Railways to resume intrastate services from Friday; 2 trains approved in Karnataka

The Railways is set to resume intrastate services as it gave its nod to run two trains in Karnataka from May 22, the South Western Railways said on Wednesday.

The two special trains are the Bengaluru - Hubli - Belagavi and Mysore -- Bengaluru Special Express, according to an order issued by the SWR. These will be the first intrastate trains to be run by the Railways since it suspended passenger services due to the coronavirus lockdown. The bookings for these trains will be online through the IRCTC portal.

"Intrastate special trains started in Karnataka. Bengaluru - Belagavi and Bengaluru - Mysore expresses to begin with 100%. Passengers have to book the tickets online. These trains will help the people who were stranded during lockdown,” Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi tweeted. The Railway Board approval came two days after the Karnataka government gave its nod to commence the train services within the state.

The Railways had earlier cancelled operation of all regular trains till June 30. In a communiqué to the SWR on Wednesday, the Board said the trains may be operated at the earliest convenient date to the zone. Both the trains will be operated as fully reserved trains and strict maintenance of social distancing norms, the Board said. The Bengaluru-Belagavi service would depart Bengaluru at 8 am, reach Hubli at 3.25 pm and Belagavi at 4.30 pm.

In its return journey, it would leave Belagavi at 8 am, Hubli at 10.50 a.m. to reach Bengaluru at 4.30 pm. It would have stops at Yeshwantpur, Tumakuru, Arsikere, Birur, Chikkajajur, Davangere, Harihar, Ranebennur, Haveri, Hubli, and Dharwad.

From Bengaluru, it would operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and from Belagavi, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The Bengaluru-Mysuru daily express special would depart Bengaluru at 9.20 a.m. to reach Mysuru at 12.45 pm while in the return direction, it would depart Mysuru at 1.45 pm to reach Bengaluru at 5 pm.

It would have stops at Kengeri, Ramanagaram, Maddur, Mandya, Pandavapura, and Naganahalli. The Railways will also begin operations of non-air conditioned passenger services for all from June 1.