Dinakar Shetty, Kumta MLA, on Tuesday urged the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd., (KRCL) to immediately restore services of passenger trains between Madgaon/ Karwar and Udupi for the benefit of commuters.

A statement from Uttara Kannada Railway Seva Samiti here said Mr. Shetty contacted the KRCL officials on being informed about the difficulties being faced by regular commuters with the continued cancellation of the Madgaon-Mangaluru DEMU passenger train.

The samiti told the MLA that there was no passenger train from Karwar towards Udupi in the morning hours as a result of which residents of Goa and Uttara Kannada were put to great hardship. The DEMU passenger train was of much help for people visiting major hospitals around Udupi, employees going to their work places and tourists. Though passenger train services were restored in many parts of the country, the DEMU was not restored, the samiti told the MLA.

Faced with difficulties and non-availability of affordable commute, many from Karwar region had taken houses on rent around Udupi. Poor patients were unable to visit hospitals while many had been skipping regular health check ups.

The MLA told KRCL officials to restore DEMU services to its original timetable after getting concurrence from the Railway Board. He told samiti representatives that he would regularly follow up the issue with KRCL.