Railways cancel Memu train service to Bengaluru airport, passengers angry

This has added to the troubles of passengers who were already frustrated by long-traffic jams, cancellation of app-based cab services to and from the airport, and skyrocketing flight ticket prices

The Memu express trains to and from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) railway station have been cancelled from June 1. The South Western Railway (SWR) took this decision due to low ridership and an acute shortage of staff. Notably, the occupancy rates fell below 5 per cent as the railways decided to go ahead with the decision.

The cancellation of the train comes in the aftermath of the recently concluded Karnataka Assembly Elections. This has added to the troubles of the passengers who are already frustrated by long-traffic jams, cancellation of app-based cab services to and from the airport, and skyrocketing flight ticket prices.

 

People affected by the cancellation of this service took to social media to express their disappointment with the decision. 

A user wrote, "Japan kept running a train and the railway station because one girl used to board the train to reach her school. If railways will stop trains like this, the confidence of people to use trains for daily commute will go for toss #PublicService (sic)."

The railways informed about the decision to cancel ten Memu express trains through a notification. The discontinued trains include 06531 KSR Bengaluru City - Devanahalli, 06533 Devanahalli - Yelahanka, 06534 Yelahanka - KIA, 06535 Devanahalli - Bengaluru Cantonment, 06536 Bengaluru Cantonment - Devanahalli, 06537 Devanahalli - Bengaluru Cantonment, 06538 Bengaluru Cantonment - Devanahalli, 06539 Devanahalli - Yelahanka, 06540 Yelahanka - Devanahalli, and 06532 Devanahalli - KSR Bengaluru.

There has been an increase in the number of airport passengers at the Bengaluru airport. The Bengaluru airport reported a growth in the passenger count compared with the last financial year and the figure reached 31.91 million passengers, a Moneycontrol report said. At 28.12 million, a majority of these were domestic passengers while 3.78 million were international passengers.

There has been a phenomenal rise in the demand in the aviation sector in the country. Reportedly, the domestic sector recorded 85 per cent growth, whereas the international sector registered a 245 per cent growth compared to FY22.