Mangalore Junction Still Lacks Adequate Infrastructure Facilities
Daijiworld Media Network — Mangalore (CN)
Report: Melka Miyar, Pics: Prajwal Ukkuda
Mangalore, Jun 23: At one time, the mention of Kankanady railway station evoked images of stray animals, rail tracks littered with paper cups, poor infrastructure, and excreta—human and animal. However, the situation has changed since the station was renamed ‘Mangalore Junction’.
With a new name, the station is gearing up to become a full-fledged railway station. With three platforms, the station handles about 15 trains everyday including the ‘Rajdhani Express’ and ‘Gareeb Rath’. These trains do not pass through Mangalore central railway station.
Tiles have been laid on the floor of the first platform and drinking water is also available here. Electronic information boards have been set up and a general waiting room has also been opened for the benefit of passengers. But there is no separate waiting room for women travelers here.
However, as this station is located about 10 kilometers away from the city, reaching it poses a challenge to passengers and this issue is yet to be addressed. Moreover, most of the trains pass by here during nighttime.
Since there are no direct buses from this railway station to Hampankatta, one has to wait till morning to reach the city. Otherwise, passengers have to shell out exorbitant amounts for taxis or rickshaws.
Meanwhile, the rickshaw drivers point out the hurdles they face when commuting to Mangalore junction railway station. They say that though the number of passengers using the station has increased in recent years, the roads which connect the station to National Highway 48 continue to be in a bad state of repair. Road blocks are a common feature on this route as a result of which many passengers have missed their trains, they lament.
Most trains which come from Mangalore central railway station stop here for about two minutes. But interestingly, the Matsyagandha Express, connecting Mangalore and Mumbai, has not been given a stop here. Railway officials have no answer to how this discrepancy has occurred.
Another disappointing factor associated with Mangalore junction railway station is that it seems to lack a local flavour since Hindi and Malayalam are the dominating languages here.
Authorities will have to address all these issues and more if they are to make Mangalore junction a railway station in the true sense of the term.