Mysore/Mysuru: Even a week after the South Western Railway (SWR) introduced Mysuru-Bengaluru-Mysuru daily morning special train (on June 22 from Mysuru), following relaxation in COVID-19 lockdown curbs, the train is witnessing poor response from commuters with just about 150 passengers (each side).

The train, which is similar to that of the popular Chamundi Express in the pre-lockdown days, leaves Mysuru City Railway Station at 6.45 am and reaches KSR Bengaluru (SBC-South Bangalore City) at 9.35 am. The train has stops at Srirangapatna, Pandavapura, Mandya, Maddur, Channapattana, Ramanagara, Bidadi and Kengeri just as Chamundi Express had. On its return journey, the train leaves KSR Bengaluru at 6.15 pm and reaches Mysuru at 9.05 pm. 

But even a week after its introduction, the train, which has 14 coaches with a seating capacity of 1,600, is far from running to its full passenger capacity as only 150 commuters (one side) are travelling by it so far. Though the fare (Rs.80) is cheaper when compared to other modes of transport, the passengers seem to be scary about travelling to Bengaluru as the capital city has become a COVID-19 hotspot. 

Prior to the lockdown, thousands of commuters used to travel in Chamundi Express, which had become the most popular train for travel between the two cities, mainly because of its timings and passenger convenience.

After a gap of two months, the SWR resumed train service (MEMU) on May 22 between Bengaluru and Mysuru following conditional relaxation of lockdown curbs. This train then used to start from Bengaluru at 9.20 am and reach Mysuru at 12.30 pm. On its return journey, the train used to leave Mysuru at 1.45 pm to reach Bengaluru at 5 pm. 

But weeks later, bowing to the demands of the passengers, who had urged for altering the timings, the SWR started the special train from Mysuru on June 22. Although the timing and running schedule of this special train is very much similar to the popular Chamundi Express train of the pre-lockdown days, the ridership has turned out to be poor as people seem to be scared.