Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur

Puttur, Oct 25: What began as a long-awaited blessing for daily commuters has now turned into a daily nightmare. The Mangaluru–Subrahmanya passenger train service, introduced six months ago with much public enthusiasm, has become notorious for its chronic delays — leaving hundreds of office-goers and students in the lurch every morning.

The train departs from Subrahmanya at 7 am and is scheduled to reach Mangaluru by 9:30 am, but in recent weeks it has been running 15 to 20 minutes late on most days. For many who must clock in by 9:30 am, especially in workplaces with digital attendance systems, the delays have become a serious headache.

Unable to risk being marked late, several passengers now alight at Mangaluru Junction (Kankanady) and pay extra for autos or buses to reach their offices on time. “We end up spending double the amount every day just to make up for the train’s delay,” complained one exhausted commuter. “It’s unfair — the train that was meant to help us has become a burden.”

According to regular travellers, the passenger train is often forced to halt at multiple points to allow express trains from Bengaluru to pass. In the evenings, it is reportedly made to wait at Neralakatte station to let goods trains go first. “Are goods trains more important than passengers?” fumed one irate traveller.

Passengers say that even when they lodge online complaints, the response from the authorities is a routine ‘technical reasons’ explanation. “It’s the same copy-paste reply every time — no real solution,” said another.

A call for better timing — and accountability

Commuters have urged the railways to reschedule the evening service, which currently departs Mangaluru at 5:45 pm, to 6 pm, making it easier for office-goers to catch the train home. But so far, they say, the Railways has remained unresponsive.

“The authorities can’t even stick to the current timetable — how will they handle a new one?” remarked a weary passenger.

With hundreds of commuters from Puttur, Kaniyoor and Edamangala relying on the service daily, passengers are now demanding that the Railways act swiftly to restore punctuality and reliability. As one commuter summed it up, “We don’t expect luxury — just a train that runs on time.”