The Dakshina Kannada District Railway Users Forum has kicked off a signature drive, insisting that Indian Railways restore the Mangaluru Central–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Navyug Express (16687/88)—the sole direct rail link between the coast and Jammu & Kashmir. Service was halted during the pandemic and never revived, stranding thousands from Coastal Karnataka and the wider South who once relied on that straight-through connection to North India.
Forum members propose rerouting the train through Hassan, Hubballi, Belagavi, Miraj, and Pune instead of the earlier Kerala-heavy alignment. They say the change would shave hours off the journey while benefiting students, soldiers, traders, pilgrims and everyday passengers alike.
Before COVID-19, the Navyug ran as a slip-coach service: a 12-coach set started from Mangaluru and coupled with a Tirunelveli rake further north. Post-pandemic, the Railways retained only the Tirunelveli-Katra portion, labeling the Mangaluru stretch “just a slip.” The Forum calls that explanation unjust.
President Anil Hegde argues that the proposed path fills the vacuum left by the scrapped Mangaluru–Miraj Mahalakshmi Express, offers overdue access for pilgrims heading to Subrahmanya and Dharmasthala, and serves large North-Indian workforces in Puttur, Subrahmanya, and Bantwal. Passengers bound for Pune or Delhi would also gain a fresh option, complementing existing Ernakulam–Pune routes.
Hegde further presses for Mangaluru to become an independent railway division, citing ample infrastructure and ridership, and suggests launching new direct trains toward Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Bandra Terminus to close lingering connectivity gaps.
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