Even though the railway station in the taluk has proved a boon to thousands of passengers, the station still awaits development.
The station is often gridlocked with passengers, a majority of them being officers, elected representatives, students and businessmen.
The station is a connecting line for most of the inter-state trains.
Speaking on the development of the double line, vice president of Karnataka Railway Passengers’ Association, Altaf Ahmed told Deccan Herald that there is doubling work from Bangalore to Mysore and Tumkur.
Similarly, if a double line is established from Yelahanka to Penagonda passing through Gauribidanur, it would be convenient for the people.
Long pending
Even though the survey work was completed for doubling work in this regard in 2007, it has not yet begun on the line, he added and said that the completion of work on the line would enable the commuters to reach Bangalore in a span of one hour.
He further said that Union Minister Veerappa Moily, who represents the Chikkaballapur constituency in the Lok Sabha, had earlier assured to prioritise the double line but the station has seen no development so far.
One of the major concerns for the people is the state of the toilets in the railway station. Being a hub of passengers, the railway authorities have not bothered to construct additional toilets, Altaf Ahmed said.
Lacking facilities
Moreover, the station lacks a separate toilet for women. The facilities are not in accordance with the number of passengers. The unhygienic toilets have been neglected to the extent that there is no cleanliness drive carried out here.
Apart from this, the seating facilties at the station do not suffice the number of passengers. A single counter to seek tickets at the station has resulted in a hustle among the passengers.
Measures
The officer said that the railway authorities should take steps to solve the problem at the earliest and provide better facilities at the station.
The officer also appealed that the Karnataka Express, Kurla and Machalipattanam trains should be stopped at the station along with additional bogies.
“The station generates the highest amount of revenue as compared to others from over 5,000 commuters who take the trains to Bangalore, Yelahanka, Doddaballapur and other villages and cities on a day-to-day basis,” the vice- president said.