Kolhapur: The Western Maharashtra Railway Pravasi Group has urged former railway minister Suresh Prabhu to intervene and seek approval for operating the proposed Mumbai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat sleeper train via Pune, Miraj and Hubballi, instead of the proposed Solapur-Guntakal route.The group said routing the train through Pune-Miraj-Hubballi would benefit a larger number of passengers and provide faster rail connectivity to western Maharashtra and north Karnataka. It has appealed to Prabhu to take up the demand with the railway ministry and push for the alternative route.The proposed second Vande Bharat sleeper train is expected to be announced by the end of this month and will connect Mumbai and Bengaluru. The train is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to around 16 hours and is likely to operate six days a week via the Solapur-Guntakal route.The passenger association said a large number of IT professionals working in Mumbai and Bengaluru hail from western Maharashtra districts such as Pune, Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli, as well as north Karnataka districts including Belagavi, Dharwad, Hubballi and Tumkur.Umesh Shah of the Western Maharashtra Railway Pravasi Group said, “The Solapur-Guntakal railway line has seen a significant increase in the number of trains; in comparison, the Sangli-Belgavi line has very little train service. Solapur has a daily Vande Bharat for Mumbai. Now that the Bengaluru-Mumbai sleeper Vande Bharat has also been approved on the Solapur route. This is a clear regional imbalance. Sangli-Belgavi-Dharwad-Hubballi-Tumkur is an economic belt of industry, trade, agriculture, education, health research.”Various public representatives from Maharashtra and Karnataka, chambers of commerce and trade associations from both states have also demanded that the Bengaluru-Mumbai sleeper Vande Bharat be operated via Sangli-Belgaum.“The Sangli route can provide fast rail travel and new economic opportunities to the Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara and Belgaum region,” Shah added.A Central Railway official, requesting anonymity, said, “As per the proposed schedule, this train will depart from Bengaluru at 10 pm and reach Mumbai at 1:50 pm the next day, while it will depart from Mumbai at 10:30 pm and reach Bengaluru at 1:50 pm the next day.”The 16-coach train will consist of 11 third AC, four second AC and one first AC coaches. The train is capable of running at a speed of 160 kmph and is expected to save passengers up to eight hours of travel time.
