Title - Kochuveli-Bangalore train: Venugopal plea to Mukul Roy

Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal has urged Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy not to change the departure time of the Kochuveli-Bangalore Express when making it a daily train.The railway’s decision to make 16315 Kochuveli-Bangalore express and its pairing train 16316 a daily train was wholeheartedly welcomed by the State, but not the move to change the schedule. At present, the train leaves Kochuveli at 4.05 pm and arrives in Bangalore at 8.35 am, which is convenient for hundreds of passengers, including students.  The railway’s plan was to change the departure time to afternoon, which sparked off a row. K C Venugopal told Mukul Roy that the schedule had to be maintained if the passengers were to benefit from train being made a daily.The Union Railway Minister has agreed to sympathetically consider the request, he said. The Railway Board will be instructed to take a final decision on the issue after studying Kerala’s request, the Railway Minister said, according to Venugopal. Earlier, Kerala MPs too had brought the grievance to the attention of the Centre.