Title - ‘Wrong bogie’ nightmare aboard B’lore-Karwar Express

The ambience in the air-conditioned compartments of the 16517 Yeshwanthpur-Karwar (originally Yeshwanthpur-Mangalore then Yeshwanthpur-Kannur) Express is marred by chaos and confusion every night when it departs at 8.35pm. Passengers attribute the problem to the numbering of the compartments as well as blockade to interconnectivity of the bogies. The train splits into two on reaching Mangalore for going to Kannur and Karwar.
    While the two and three tie rcoaches that go to Karwar are named A1 and B1, there is only one air-conditioned compartment in the section that goes to Kannur and it is named AB1. This compartment is divided into two with one part comprising the two-tier section and the other the three-tier section. Since the train stops only for about five minutes at Bangalore City railway station, from where the majority of the passengers board it, they end up in the wrong compartments and the chaos begin.
    Mohammed Manan (24), employee of an international airline at Bangalore airport, said, “I frequently travel in this train to Mysore which is my home town. On Saturday night as I boarded the two-tier compartment (AB1), there was a commotion. Among several people who had wrongly entered the coach was a young woman working with Infosys and an aged couple who had difficulty in walking. The travellers’ ticket examiner (TTE) told them that their berths were in A-1 which was located few coaches away. The compartments were interconnected only from S-3, so they had to alight from AB1 and enter the other section. The only options they had were either to wait till Mysore where the train stops for 15 minutes to go to their coach or do it in a hurry at Kengeri (the very next stop) where the train stops only for five minutes.
    “Not wanting to cause inconvenience to other passengers in AB1 by waiting till 11.30 pm for the train to reach Mysore, the old couple got down at Kengeri with great difficulty and managed to enter the S3 compartment. I helped them with their luggage. The young woman also joined them. Unfortunately, in a hurry to get into the train,she stumbled on the luggage and fell down. She started crying, fearing that she would miss the train. I somehow managed to reach her to the compartment. I rushed back, only to find the doors of my coach locked. I banged on the doors. Thanks to some technical problem, the train halted for another five minutes and I was able to get inside,” added Manan.
    The TTE, who requested anonymity, said, “Ever since the train has been extended to Karwar, people have been entering the wrong coaches, especially the air-conditioned ones. Since Bangalore City railway station is bustling with passengers, people fail to take note of the announcements. The coach going to Kannur is AB1 which comprise both two-tier and three-tier, those going to Karwar are marked A1 and B1. Often in a hurry, people board AB1 instead of A1 or B1. The confusion continues till Mysore where the train reaches at 11.30 pm.”
    After the Yeswanthpur-Mangalore train was launched in Dec 2007, the Kerala lobby managed to get the route extended to Kannur. Spurred by the move, several local organisations and association demanded extension of the route till to Karwar. Now while leaving Bangalore, Train No 16523 Yeshwanthpur-Karwar Express and Train No 16517 Yeshwanthpur-Karwar Express are connected. They are split on reaching Mangalore Central Railway station to head for their destinations. The same way, on their way back, both trains reach Mangalore Central Railway station where they are both connected together again.