If one thinks that the shortest route ensures speedy journey, then one is not right. The journey hours between Pune and Mangaluru Junction and beyond till Ernakulam via Belagavi (1,284 km) has only got increased from 29 hours to 32 hours and 50 minutes since March 19 after the new Railway timetable.
Train No 11097 Pune-Ernakulam Poorna Express, which earlier used to leave Pune at 11.10 p.m. on Saturdays, now leaves at 11.30 p.m. to reach Mangaluru Junction at 11.48 p.m. instead of 7.35 p.m. and Ernakulam Junction at 8.10 a.m. instead of 4.10 a.m. The journey timing has increased by 3 hours and 50 minutes. The average speed has been reduced to 39 kmph from 44 kmph.
In contrast, if one travels by Train No 22150 Pune-Ernakulam Poorna Express via Panvel, one takes 24 hours and 05 minutes instead of the earlier 27 hours and 35 minutes for the journey. The travel time has come down by 3 hours and 30 minutes and the train’s average speed has increased to 56 kmph from 49 kmph.
Many from coastal Karnataka, who have established businesses, including hotels in Belagavi and surrounding regions, depend on Train No 11097/98 for their travel, though it is a weekly service. People’s demand for a daily service to Belagavi/Pune has not been considered by the Railway Board for years.
Atul Kamath, who often commutes between Belagavi and Mangaluru, said that the train reaches Mangaluru close to midnight instead of the earlier 7.35 p.m. Since Mangaluru Junction is away from the main road, one has to be at the mercy of autorickshaw drivers and pay through one’s nose to reach the city.
Railway officials too subscribed to the view and said that close to a 100 passengers from Mangaluru use the train regularly. They [officials] are at the receiving end of the passengers’ wrath, an officer said.
The running hours of Train No 11098, however, did not change and remains at 29 hours and 40 minutes.
The Pune Division of the Central Railway, to which the train belongs, squarely blamed the Railway Board for the delay. The train, which used to take three hours to reach Satara from Pune (145 km) earlier, now takes five hours. And, an official said that it is to give way for seven other trains.
