Mangaluru: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw urging him to reconsider the decision to extend the Bengaluru-Kannur express train service up to Kozhikode in Kerala.
Rao, who is also the Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister, said in his letter that the decision will adversely affect thousands of commuters of the train from the coastal region.
He said train Nos. 16511 and 16512 is the only train service between Bengaluru and Kannur via Mangaluru. The overnight express train always runs full and if extended to another destination, there will be additional demand for seats and berths. It is hard to find any logic in the new proposal, he said.
With the proposed extension, the availability of reserved berths will be drastically reduced in train No. 16512, he said. He also pointed out that Kozhikode is already well-served by train connectivity.