Report By Hemanth Kumar
Went To SBC(Bang City) @ 11.25 to meet Friend who was going to Mysore and also be a part of First Run of our Commuter Rail to Nelamangla.
Repeated Announcements were being mad for Newly Introduced Train No 56579 Nelamangla Pass will Depart From PF8. Time was 12.20 and Passengers and Media Persons were waiting for Train. I and a fellow Railfan Santhosh were thinking which Rake could be used. I guessed Mys-SBC Pass rake would be used but Santhosh was telling Hindupur or Chikballapur Rake would be used and we were looking in all directions to check which rake would be shunted. Santhosh even went a step further n messaged to DRM about it for which he dint get any reply. My guess was right and Finally Mys-SBC pass arr @12.48 with 38mins Delay. After some discussions with Loco Pilot and Sectional Engineer all of Us Boarded the train with good number of Pass. Suvarna News Person also joined us for first run.
The Train Finally Left SBC @ 1.00PM and was passing Malleshwaram after a minute Halt. Then siddganga ICE from SBC to Dharwad came in adjacent line with a parallel run upto Yesvantpur outer were our Nelamangla train got a starter and overtook Exp train which crawled slowly to enter YPR. We entered into PF1 of YPR and Sanjeev came to YPR to take some snaps and meet us. Dharwad ICE left first and we had a min Halt getting some time to chat with Sanjeev and Take snaps.. The train left YPR around 1.20 and speeded past HMT and reached Chikbanavar. A min Halt and after Loco Pilot collected the Token to proceed(old signalling sys which is used in only 2sections in Place of automatic signalling) we moved about 200mts and train Halted.
The Nelmangla track Bifurcation point had come and Local Residents and Loco and Section Engineers performed pooja and Garlanded Loco and also distributed sweets. After a 20min Halt we started and in no time we were in Soldevnahalli Station. A min halt and Tumkur track started disappearing as we curved left to go to Nelmangla. There was speed Restriction as its new line and no freights had run, we were going at 20-30KM speed. After some distance we stopped near a bridge. On getting down we had a sign board Hand shake signal and some person went to Bridge to pull some livery n give signal. We were busy taking snaps of route and Suvarna news person also joined us. At every point wen we got down he also used to get down asking us to hold his camera n help him wen alighting n boarding back.. The train finally reached Nelmangla at 2.35PM.
At Nelmangla I went to nby tickets while santhoshg was busy takin snaps of Loco. There was some prob in Track points interchange so after trying for 10mins they finally fixed it and loco was reversed. A pooja was done again by residents and Lions Club members. I could not take much snaps of stations as I was bit busy answering my directors calls. Finally train Left back to Bang @3.10. The patronage was quite good. After moving bit Slowly we were back in Chikbanavar at 3.30 and then reached Yesvantpur outer on ORR were train stopped to get signal as some Exp train was going towards Hebbal Line.at 3.50 were . I alighted there itself as i could get bus n reach home quickly as i was bit tired, as i had walked from Malleshwaram Circle to Station and rounded all corners of SBC to check trains n locos.
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Comments
Hemant, Sanjeev, Thanks!
Hemant, Sanjeev,
Thanks for the nice report and photographs.
-Syed
Keep up the pressure to increase the frequency
For efficient utilization (by school/college/office goers), there should be morning and evening trips from Bangalore -> Nelamangala -> Bangalore. We need to keep up the pressure with railways to bringup about this change. Else, railways might suggest lack of utilization as a pretext to discontinue services on this much awaited route.
- Srivatsan
- Srivatsan
Thanks Hemant/Sanjeev for the report
Nice pictures, detailed report, thanks guys for taking the effort to be there and then sharing this report with us.
Hi Nice to see the pics
Hi
Nice to see the pics hemanth/sanjay...its really good report and fair can be increased i feel....honestly..
Regards
kamal
Mobilize the local support!
@Srivatsan,
Yes you are right, the schedule should suit School/College/Office/Business schedules. Now the ball is in Citzien's court to mobilize enough support to not only sustain this schedule but should demand more schedules atleast one in morning and one in evening hours from both ends.
Best way would be to request the local politicians to send similar letters to DRM, besides individual writing letters to DRM, SWR.
Sanjeev/Hemanth, can we put some efforts on this?
-Syed
I hope this doesnt go the way
I hope this doesnt go the way of HOHO buses and other such projects. They introduce the projects because of some public pressure but do it in such a way that it is doomed to failure and then throw the baby out with the bathwater.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/1/2013050220130502010711187a61447a0/The-right-train-with-the-wrong-timings.html
letters sent to S W Rly for increased service frequency
Text of the letters sent by registered post to GM, DRM, S W Rly, today:
Respected Sir,
Sub: Petition for increasing the frequency of ‘Bangalore-Nelamangala’ train service
At the outset, we would like to thank you and your division for introducing the much needed train service between ‘Bangalore and Nelamangala’.
A Praja team took a ride on the train recently to gain a first-hand experience of the service. The team members took the opportunity to talk to various sections of Nalamangala town (and nearby area) residents. While the people have welcomed the service with great enthusiasm, and begun patronising it more and more, the overwhelming demand was for more frequent connectivity, particularly in the mornings and evenings (The team report may be accessed at http://praja.in/en/blog/kbsyed61/2013/04/29/report-commuter-train-nelamangala).
On behalf of the people of Nelamangala and its neighborhood, Sir, may we now request you, to step up the services to eventually reach the levels envisaged in the RITES report. We are sure they will not be found wanting in the patronage of this most cost effective form of commute.
Should you or your officers have queries in this regard, please feel welcome to contact me any time.
sd/- for Praja-RAAG
PF and Rakes are constraint for Running Trains to Nelamangala
@Murali : Thanks for sending the petition to GM and DRM for Nelamnagala Train.
Thanks to Nagabhushana A M for lodging grievance with Railway on Nelamangala issue :
We had filed grievance with Central Govt on this and reply from SWR as below :
Reply form SWR on introducing morning and evening trains to Nelamangala :
Complaint No / Registration Number : MORLY/E/2013/03677
Train No.56579/56580 Bangalore-Nelamangala-Bangalore passenger has been introduced after commissioning section between Bangalore-Nelamangala section (Part of Chikbanavar-Hassan New line) as per Railway Board directions. The rake of this train is integrated with other passenger trains. It is not feasible to increase the frequency for the present and due platform constraints at Bangalore city station, it is not feasible to introduce commuter trains from Bangalore during morning and evening hours
Complaint No / Registration Number: MORLY/E/2013/03701
Train No.56579/56580 Bangalore-Nelamangala-Bangalore Passenger has been introduced by utilizing lie over period of Train No.56229 Mysore-Bangalore Passenger (from12.10 hrs to 16.05 hrs, 56229/56241) after commissioning of the section between Chikbanavar-Nelamangala (Part of Chikbanavar-Hassan New line) as per Railway Board directions. It is not feasible to revise the timings, due to non availability of coach/rake and platform constraints at Bangalore station. Further, due to acute shortage of platforms, limited maintenance facility, unavailability of coaches, it is not possible to introduce additional passenger (commuter) trains between Nelamangala- Bidadi/Kengeri via Bangalore city during morning and evening hours for the present.
You can check the reply from SWR on the site :
http://pgportal.gov.in/ViewStatus.aspx
So its clear that PF, Maintenance facility and Rakes like DEMU, MEMU / EMU are need of the hour for Bangalore Commuter Rail to kick off with SPV and not the tracks constraints.
Now we should send petition to Railway Board and our Railway Minister on COmmuter Rail introducing for Bangalore with signature campaign.
One more Train addition to Bangalore - Bangarpet segment
Train nos 66519 / 66520 Marikuppam-Bangalore City Passenger, train no 66519 will depart Marikuppam at 4.45 am (except Sundays) and arrive at Bangalore City at 7.30 am, the same day. In the return direction, train no 66520 will depart Bangalore City 8.15 pm and reach at Marikuppam at 10.30 pm the same night. En route, the train will stop at Bangalore Cantonment, Krishnarajapuram, Whitefield, Malur, Bangarpet Junction, BEML Nagar, Coromandal, Oorgaum and Champion
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/341956/swr-announces-revised-timetable.html
This Train is as part of Rail Budget 2013 announced and timings announced now. With this new passenger Train addition and timings during night from Bangalore city at 8:15PM is perfect as their r no passenger trains after Bangalore - Bangarpet 16522 leaving at 19:35 Hrs
I am feeling are their any changes so called peak time for Bangalore city Railway Station ??? as 8:15PM and 7:30AM this train timings.
With further few more trains ( 4 /5 services daily ) Train additions between Bangalore - Bangarpet, commuters will have good services for travell by Local Trains. People travelling to Whitefield after 8PM , they will get most benefitted with further Foot Over Bridge coming up at Whitefield station.
Finally change is happening for Commuter Rail Bangalore
Look at how the changes happening on Train additions due to Commuters Demand and SWR does not want to be commuter friendly.
1. Most of the trains used for local travell have extended to Sunday, earlier they were running six days only.
2. Bangalore - Bangarpet Train added 2 years back
3. Three services of Yesvantpur - Hosur and Yesvantpur - Devanahalli running with DEMU Rake added in 2010.
4. Recent addition of Bangalore - Nelamangala Train.
5. New Train Bangalore - Marikuppam getting added now
It shows very clearly that, SWR bangalore is adding services knowingly or unknowingly for Suburban Travells in Bangalore & near by towns. So things can change with proper rake allocation like DEMU / MEMU / EMU type for Bangalore division.
This train runs almost empty everyday
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/343346/this-train-runs-almost-empty.htmlInconvenient schedule ensures there are few takers for Bangalore-Nelamangala train
The Nelamangala-Bangalore passenger train, which was launched without much publicity in April 2013, three years after its announcement, has now become a bane for the Railways.
For, there are very few takers for the train as its timings are not convenient to the people.
Hoping that this will be a popular short-distance service considering the number of travellers on the route, the Railways on April 29, 2013, introduced it between Bangalore and Nelamangala. In view of the model code of conduct for the Assembly polls, the service was started without much fanfare.
Timing blamed
However, the number of passengers who travel by this train does not cross double digit sometimes. Regular commuters blame it on its timing as the train leaves the City at 12.20 pm and reaches Nelamangala at 1.20 pm.
Even the return timing is odd as the train leaves Nelamangala at 2.10 pm and reaches Bangalore by 3.20 pm. En route, the train stops at Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur, Chikkabanavara and Soladevanahalli, covering a distance of about 23 km.
According to railway officials, the service is not very popular with not many boarding the train at either the City Railway station or Malle- swaram, Yeshwantpur, Chikkabanavara and Soladevanahalli stations. However, the commuters have a different view.
“If the timings are changed, this will be one of the most popular trains as there are thousands of people who come to work in the City from these areas. This will help them if the train service begins at 8 am,” said Ganesh Kini, who resides at a village near Nelamangala and travels to the City daily for work.
Another commuter Y Prasad, who works in a private firm at Seshadripuram, says that the bus fare to the City from Nelamangala is Rs 20, while the train fare is a meagre Rs five. Scores of people will be benefited if the timings are revised.
In addition to the comfortable journey, people can overcome the frequent problem of traffic jams, he added.
Poor publicity
The train most of the time has run almost empty. “I counted the number of passengers one day in June. There were hardly 20, while each bogie has a capacity to accommodate at least 75 passengers,” said Prasad. However, some officials say that it is not the timings which has affected the service, but the poor publicity about the train service.
“First of all, it was the timing of launch of the service. It was launched during the elections and the code of conduct deprived us an opportunity to advertise the service. Secondly, the railway station in Nelamangala is three km away from the town while the bus stand is in the heart of the town,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
Railways to revise timings
Anil Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railways, said: “The service is not very popular. We have received requests to revise the timings. There have been demands that the train be run during evenings. We are working on the same.”
The train has 13 bogies — nine general second-class sitting coaches, two double-decker chair cars and two second class-cum-luggage vans. The total seating capacity of the passenger train is 972.
Same old story
Knew this situation would come up as I had commented on the same earlier.
Unless the timings are not changed to suit more people (making it a morning and evening train to the comfort of all office/school goers), this service will meet with an untimely death. All efforts should be made in this direction.
Looking at the traffic impact it can make, in total it can carry 17 buses worth of passengers (consider 972 seats in this train as mentioned above and each bus having the capacity to carry 60 passengers).
- Srivatsan
Most likely Nelamangala Train Timings changes soon
As the Local People of Nelamangala have given request to SWR to change timings and also many news paper bringing out the issue how SWR running train at wrong timings and now SWR saying if they have rake, they will be able to change the timings as requestd by citizens.
Also now representation has been given to Railway Minister to change the timings soon, Minister has promised to change it with next 2 weeks.
http://epapervijayavani.in/Details.aspx?id=7103&boxid=141236953
When service was not started to Nelamangala, people did't worry on the timings and after service has started, people realized improtance of Train schedule during office time.
Its good things. happening, expecting one more services to be added for Tumkur soon as the Bijapur - Bangalore train timing has been revised from 1st July'2013 to 6:30AM departure from Tumkur from earlier 8:00AM. So people of Tumkur and MP from Tumkur Bsavaraj have rput pressure on SWR and Railway minister to start service in the morning from Tumkur at 7:45AM. SWR has promised that if Rake is made available, they will be able to start.
Looking for early start of the Train announced in the budget from Marikuppam to Bangalore which is during office timing from Bangarpet.
Railway Track further to Nelamangala
Hassan - Bangalore new BG line - Collection, Supply and stacking of machine crushed ballast from Km.12/800 to Km.30/800 between Nelamangala and Solur stations.(SCHS/277)
Total Tender Value: Rs 44 Lakhs and period 2 Months
http://www.swr.indianrailways.gov.in/TenderDetails_cpp.jsp?T_ID=1785&lang=0&id=0,3
Extension of Nelamnagala Train towards Solur is very improtant as villagers arround NH-4 can make use of Nelamnagala Train once it gets extended.
Till now hardly any progress on tracks after Nelamangala. Will SWR take next decade to complet this segment
Is it possible to press for
Is it possible to press for doubling and electrification from Chikkbanavara to Nelamangala?
It is hardly any distance to be frank.
Morning Train services from nelamangala
The new trains
*The Yeshwantpur-Nelamangala train departs at 7.30 am and reaches at 8.15 am. In the return direction, it leaves Nelamangala at 8.45 am and reaches Yeshwantpur at 9.40 am.
http://www.deccanherald.c...
With This Nelamangala got Two Trains to Bangalore. Thrid one in the evening will make it good for people Nelamanagal to reach Bangalore by Train and go back by Train.
Looking at when MEMU train Ramanagara - Banaglore will start. With roads getting further slow traffic, these few of suburban trains will help commuters to use Public Transport.