Mangaluru: Coastal residents have expressed strong opposition to the Railway Department’s proposal to operate a Bengaluru-Goa Vande Bharat Express via the Padil bypass, bypassing Mangaluru city. The plan has sparked public concern over potential changes to the Gomateshwara Express timetable, which serves thousands of passengers daily between Bengaluru and Mangaluru.

Under the proposal, the new Vande Bharat train will not stop in Mangaluru city, instead passing through Padil before proceeding to Goa. However, to accommodate this service, the Railways plans to revise the Gomateshwara Express (Train Nos. 16575/16576) schedule, which currently enables convenient daytime travel for students, employees, patients, and women.

The existing Gomateshwara Express timetable allows passengers to depart Yesvantpur in the morning and reach Mangaluru by late afternoon, and vice versa. Residents warn that the revised schedule may force travellers to start journeys in the afternoon and arrive late at night, reducing convenience and disrupting routines.

Currently, the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route has two night trains and three daytime services, including one operating weekly and two three-day-a-week trains. Since its launch in 2017, the Gomateshwara Express has become a critical link for daytime travellers, particularly from Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, and Bengaluru.

While residents do not object to the Vande Bharat Express bypassing Mangaluru city, they insist that the Gomateshwara Express schedule must remain unchanged. Local railway passenger welfare committees have submitted representations to the Railway Department and the Railway Minister, warning of potential rail blockade protests if the timetable is altered.

South Western Railway officials have not released an official timetable, stating that details are still under review. According to Manjunath, CPRO of Hubballi Railway Division, the ghat sections on the route will naturally limit train speed, and improvements may be considered where feasible.

The proposal highlights the tension between new high-speed rail projects and existing services critical to regional commuters, with public campaigns on social media urging authorities to maintain the Gomateshwara Express schedule.