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Bengaluru: The cancellation of a dedicated overnight train between Bengaluru and Hubballi has riled passengers.
The South Western Railway (SWR) cited "poor occupancy" for the cancellation of train numbers 07340/07339 KSR Bengaluru-SSS Hubballi-KSR Bengaluru Superfast Express.
The train was cancelled from KSR Bengaluru beginning November 20 and from SSS Hubballi beginning November 21.
Passengers dispute the "poor occupancy" claim, saying the train was running at near capacity. They want the railways to make the occupancy details public and resume the train forthwith.
The service was launched in March 2023 as a "train on demand" with special fares to link the state's two major cities. While many overnight trains connected Bengaluru and Hubballi, none of them was exclusive to this route.
The special train changed that, and passengers were relieved.
On November 17, the SWR announced that it was revising the train's composition. It did so by decreasing the number of sleeper-class coaches from 11 to 8.
But just two days later, it announced that the train "will remain cancelled until further advice due to poor occupancy".
Aneesh Hegde, the SWR's Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), said that in the post-Deepavali period, the train had a 60% occupancy on weekdays, but higher occupancy on weekends and holidays.
The train's occupancy since March wasn't immediately available.
"These are not regular trains, but special ones that are run as 'Trains on Demand' by using the spare rake/coaches based on demand towards different destinations to meet the peak demand during a particular period only," he said in a statement to DH.
KN Krishna Prasad of the Karnataka Railway Vedike said the Bengaluru-Hubballi needed a dedicated overnight train and asked the SWR to reconsider its decision.
"The rake is now being used to run a special train between Bengaluru and Bikaner, ostensibly to clear the extra rush of passengers. The railways must reintroduce the Bengaluru-Hubballi train," he said.
Hegde said: "We keep observing the demand towards various destinations on a regular basis. Special trains are run to different destinations based on higher demands, higher waitlists and for the convenience of the passengers."