Title - ‘Resume Bijapur-Hubli train service’

Members of the Bijapur Broad-gauge Horata Samiti staged a dharna outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Monday demanding that the Bijapur-Hubli train service be resumed.

In a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Shivayogi Kalasad, the samiti opposed the suspension of the train service from July 1.

The members alleged that the decision was taken without assigning any reason and that it had severely inconvenienced passengers from Bijapur, Bagalkot, Gadag and Dharwad districts.

List of demands

The samiti demanded that Mr. Kalasad intervene in the matter.

The members also urged Railway officials to ensure that the Gol Gumaz Express reached Bangalore in 13 hours. They said that though the schedule stated that the train took 13 hours to reach Bangalore, in reality it took 15 hours.

They also demanded that the officials introduce Bijapur-Gadag intercity (with departure time at 8.20 a.m.) to help passengers catch the Tirupati and Amaravati express trains at Gadag, and wanted officials to change the timings of the Solapur-Hubli train, which goes via Bijapur, to help passengers take the Shatabdi Express departing from Hubli at 2 p.m.

They accused the Railways of neglecting the long-standing demand to modernise the Ibrahimpur railway station.

The samiti said that all their demands were in the interests of the people and that the officials should consider them seriously.