Mangaluru
The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti, V Somanna, to consider reinstating the parcel booking service and extending unloading times at Kayamkulam railway station in Kerala.
According to KCCI President Ananthesh V Prabhu, merchants in Mangaluru who deal in dry chillies and have customers in Kerala primarily use the railway parcel service to transport goods to destinations such as Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kayamkulam, Karunagapalli, Sasthamkotta, and Kollam.
Kayamkulam serves as a crucial market for trading dry chillies. Currently, goods are transported via Maveli Express (Train No. 16603), Malabar Express (Train No. 16630), and Parasuram Express (Train No. 16650), each equipped with two coaches for parcel services. The trains halt for just two minutes at Kayamkulam station, which Prabhu highlighted as inadequate for unloading 50-100 bags of goods. He has therefore requested railways to resume bookings to Kayamkulam from Mangaluru and to extend the halt time at Kayamkulam station to at least five minutes to facilitate efficient unloading.
Prabhu emphasized that these measures would enhance trader confidence in using railways for transporting goods and would potentially increase revenue for the railways through improved service to traders.
Additionally, there is a call for the introduction of Vande Bharat trains from Mangaluru to Bengaluru and an extension of the Mangaluru to Madgaon Vande Bharat train to Mumbai. This move is seen as necessary due to significant passenger traffic traveling for leisure, employment, and business between these cities.
Meanwhile, the Kanara Industries Association (KIA) has shared a suggestion from former Managing Director E Sreedharan regarding the realignment of the current railway track to shorten travel times between Mangaluru and Bengaluru.
