Mangaluru: The train commuters of the coastal districts have been demanding additional trains and facilities for a long time.
Creation of a separate division for Mangaluru under Konkan Railway segment is also a long-standing demand.
But lobbies seem to override the genuine demands of the people of this region. As if to add insult to injury, some existing facilities are also being withdrawn very often.
A Southern Railway notification says that effective April 12, the number of coaches in intercity express train 22535/22636 on Mangaluru-Madgaon-Mangaluru route has been reduced from 15 to 11. It also says that it is a permanent step.
The pretext cited for the reduction is poor occupancy of passengers. Regular passengers say the timings of the Madgaon Express are clashing with other trains running in the upward direction. Hence they would prefer to take other trains.