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MANGALORE: Lack of a double railway line between Nethravathi and Mangalore Central railway station is putting hundreds of passengers who travel from Kerala to Mangalore to much hardship. Though the railways has completed the doubling of tracks between Thiruvananthapuram and Nethravathi, land acquisition is believed to be delaying the doubling of the line between Nethravathi and Mangalore Central. Most trains that come from Kerala are forced to stop at Thokkottu for up to 20 - 30 minutes till the track leading to Mangalore is cleared. Trains are held up at Thokkottu, southern side of Nethravathi river, due to a technical reason - lack of double track to central station. Since there is no double track, trains from Kerala are not able to enter Mangalore without clearance from Central station. More than 25 trains leave Mangalore Central every day and the trains that arrive from Kerala are stopped at Thokkottu to help the smooth departure of the trains from the station. Trains from Thokkottu are allowed to enter Mangalore only when the track is cleared after the departure of trains from Mangalore Central. Doubling the railway line will ease the situation to a great extend.

Somesh T, a passenger, said that he was forced to wait for nearly 20 minutes at Thokkottu on his journey from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore Central in Malabar Express recently. "Though the train reached Thokkottu on time, it was stopped there as the signal was not cleared. Such situations cause physical and mental strain to passengers, who arrive after travelling a long distance," he added.

Ravi Chandra, another passenger, asked the railways to take measures to find a permanent solution to the woes of the passengers. "Doubling the track between Mangalore Central station and Nethravathi will not only give a relief to the passengers, but also will help the railways to maintain the train timings," he added.

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"Doubling of railway tracks is an ongoing process. The railways needs to acquire land for doubling the track between Nethravathi and Mangalore Central station. The work will be taken up in a phased manner - Mohan Menon, additional divisional railway manager, Palakkad division, Southern Railway.Nethravathi and Mangalore Central station. The work will be taken up in a phased manner - Mohan Menon, additional divisional railway manager, Palakkad division, Southern Railway.