Patrons frown at Railway Ministry’s move to extend Bengaluru-Kannur express via Mangalutu to Kozhikode

Patrons in Dakshina Kannada district have taken serious exception to Railway Ministry’s proposal to extend Train No. 16511/12 KSR Bengaluru-Kannur-KSR Bengaluru overnight express via Mangaluru Central down-south to Kozhikode in Kerala.

The primary objective of introducing the overnight express train was to connect Bengaluru with port city of Mangaluru after the Hassan-Mangaluru gauge conversion. Yet, the service was extended to Kannur to the dismay of thousands of travellers from coastal Karnataka. Its further extension to Kozhikode would further aggravate the already packed service, said Dakshina Kannada District Rail, an online forum of patrons from the district.

Any long-distance connectivity requirements beyond Kannur should be addressed through separate and independent services, not by overburdening an already saturated train, it said. If there was a genuine requirement for rail connectivity between Kozhikode and Bengaluru, the same should be addressed by a new train via Salem, it said.

Referring to the recently released “Trains at a Glance 2026” released by the Ministry, the Forum said the Kannur Express was shown as extended up to Kozhikode, even though the extension had not been implemented on the ground.

Showing Kozhikode as the terminal station in a reference publication is a matter of great concern, because, the extension beyond Kannur has not been implemented. While earlier objections to extensions beyond Mangaluru Central and Kannur remain unaddressed, there has been no clarity on additional rakes, coach augmentation or quota restructuring. The capacity on the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section, already a critical bottleneck, has not been enhanced too.

Further, extension of the service beyond Kannur is not justified because the Kannur Express is the lifeline overnight service for Dakshina Kannada and Kasaragod districts. The service also records very high patronage from devotees visiting pilgrimage centres, including Kukke Subrahmanya and Dharmasthala. Further extension would dilute seat and berth availability for existing passengers, worsening an already severe demand–supply imbalance.

The Forum said that Mangaluru, emerging as the second IT capital of Karnataka, in fact requires enhanced rail connectivity and definitely not a curtailing of existing facilities. Being a hub of education, healthcare and port-led economic growth, Mangaluru needs strong and protected rail connectivity to Bengaluru.

Even after extension to Kannur, Trains 16511/12 continue to run with heavy waiting lists throughout the year, clearly establishing that the core demand lies in coastal Karnataka, particularly up to Mangaluru Central.