Mangaluru: Kukke Shree Subrahmanya-Mangalore Railway Commuters Forum, Puttur, has formulated a fresh list of demands from the region, including splitting the Bengaluru-Karwar/Kannur night express in to two full-fledged trains.

Railway Minister Prabhu is expected to attend a mega de-addiction programme at Dharmasthala on October 1, after which he is expected to visit Bantwal and Puttur Railway Stations coming under Mysuru Division of South Western Railway.

Forum Convenor, Sudarshan made a statement that they have been submitting periodical representations to successive Railway Ministers detailing the demands from the region, which will also benefit other areas.

The demand for carving out a separate Mangaluru Division from Railway networks of Southern Railway till Kasargod, Konkan Railway till Karwar and SWR till Hassan will continue to be made till they are met, he said. Alternatively, Mangaluru Railway region should be brought under Konkan Railway, he added.

The prime demand at this point in time however, is bifurcating the Bengaluru-Karwar/Kannur night express train as not all passengers between Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Bengaluru are getting accommodation on the single train. Therefore, both trains should have separate rakes of 24 coaches each; while Bengaluru-Karwar train should be routed via Arsikere/ Shravanabelagola, the Kannur train should be routed via Mysuru.