Trains to bypass Gadag Jn from June 1; residents irked

Gadag: The Gadag Junction, a historic station in operation for 142 years, faces a potential downgrade as South Western Railway (SWR) allegedly plans to reroute three pairs of Hubballi-Vijayapura trains through Gadag Bypass station starting June 1. Officials have decided to shift trains-06919/20 and 07329/30 Hubballi-Vijayapura-Hubballi; and 07331/32 Hubballi-Solapur-Hubballi from June 1, in a recently held meeting, and a copy of its minutes is available with the TOI.Ganesh Singh Byali, president of Betgeri Railway Horata Samiti, told TOI that SWR constructed bypass station saying it is to facilitate freight and temporarily diverted trains. “Now, it is shifting regular and special passenger trains to Bypass, which is 10 kilometres away from the city. At the other end, it is re-developing Gadag Junction at a cost of Rs 23 crore under Amrut Bharat Station Scheme. It has plan of shifting all Hubballi-Bagalkot-Hubballi trains in coming days. We are preparing to fight against this move,” he asserted.Allamaprabhu Bettadur, a writer-activist from Koppal, noted that commuters from Koppal, Vijayanagara and Ballari districts, normally change the train in Gadag Jn to travel towards Bagalkot. “If trains are shifted to Bypass, we will have to pay over Rs 200 for autorickshaw rides. This will force us to look for alternatives like buses. It is an unscientific and anti-passenger decision,” he criticised.Chandrakant Chavan, an activist, said: “I have seen Gadag station for the past 4 decades, being the son of a train loco pilot. It has been facilitating movement of freight and passenger trains between north and south states. Currently, Gadag Jn is under category of non-sub urban group-4 having earnings between Rs 10-20 crore with a footfall of 2-5 million passengers. If Hubballi-Bagalkot trains are diverted, the station will lose its revenue and importance. SWR is already geared up to run Belagavi-Gomati Nagar train via Gadag Bypass without stop, on Sunday, on a trial basis. We are planning to block it condemning the negligence towards Gadag, a district headquarters,” he shared.Meanwhile, Manjunath Kanamadi, CPRO, SWR, Hubballi, said: “I don't know from where this news has originated. Currently, SWR has no such proposal of shifting trains to Gadag Bypass until it gets facilities like approach road, proper security arrangements, bus connectivity etc. As Bypass has no such facilities,Train No. 07389/07390 Belagavi-Gomti Nagar- Belagavi Express Special is not provided a stoppage there. Once the Bypass get all the required facilities, then we might stop only trains on demand, seasonal special trains at Bypass. Otherwise, all regular trains will operate through Gadag Junction only.”
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