South Western Railway to run poll special trains to Karwar

Bengaluru: South Western Railway (SWR) is likely to operate ‘election special’ train between Bengaluru and Karwar and other parts of the state to facilitate voters to reach their hometown to exercise their franchise.

The trains will operate a day before Lok Sabha elections and it is being run reportedly following directions from the Election Commission.

A SWR official told Deccan Chronicle, "The is because of direction from the Election Commission as some voters had written to the commission that it will be difficult for them to reach their home towns to cast vote. As trains to Mangaluru and Karwar are full, they are at the mercy of private bus operators, who have jacked up fares from Rs 800 to nearly Rs 1,600 on the eve of two polling dates - April 18 and 23. So we have decided to operate special trains on these days.”

It is estimated that nearly 10 lakh people from the coastal regions work in Bengaluru and many still have their names in the electoral rolls at their home towns.

So the SWR is working on the proposal and the details will be released to the public soon.

A SWR source said that ‘election special’ train from Bengaluru would go via Kunigal, Hassan, and Padil (without touching Mangaluru Junction and Central) to Karwar.

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