Vijayapura: After a prolonged wait, the South Western Railway (SWR) finally met the demand of the people of Vijayapura and Bagalakote by introducing the first weekly train to reach Delhi from Vijayapura City.
The dream came true when Union Minister for Railways, Communication, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged-off SSS Hubballi – Hazrat Nizamuddin Weekly Express at Hubballi Railway Station on Tuesday October 11. The newly introduced weekly express train SSS Hubballi to Hazrat Nizamuddin Express (20657/58) will depart Hubballi at 11:50 pm on every Friday. This train connects the following cities Bagalakote, Vijayapura of Karnataka, Solapur of Maharashtra and Gwalior of Madhya Pradesh and other cities of North India before reaching Delhi at 10:40 am on Sunday. The same train departs Delhi at 3:55 pm on Sunday and reaches Hubballi at 4:00 am on Tuesday.
This train comprises general compartments, sleeper class and AC coaches. The booking for the berths of the same train has already been enabled at ticket counters and online ticket booking websites from Tuesday. The train will kick-start its service from September 14.
MP Ramesh Jigajinagi said, “I have put a lot of effort into make this train operate via Bagalkot and Vijayapura. After a very long time, a train connecting to the national capital will be operating from Vijayapura. This will boost rail connectivity not only to Delhi but also to the other major cities of North India.”
“The talks are also on to run this new weekly express rail as a bi-weekly at the earliest. I will continue to work on bringing more trains and projects from the central government to my segment,” added six-time parliamentarian Jigajinagi.
The citizens have also expressed gratitude to the elected representatives of the region and officials of SWR for introducing a new train to Delhi via Bagalkot and Vijayapura . The District Railway Action Committee also played a key role in introducing an express train to the national capital.
Satish Bhavi, Vice-President of the Committee, pointed, “The people from both the districts were dependent either on Hubballi and Solapur railway stations to travel to Delhi. Now, people can travel to the national capital from the railway station of Bagalakote and Vijayapura. This will boost the business, tourism and education sector of this region.”
