Mangaluru: More than two years after Indian Railways promised that it would begin operating a day train from the coastal city to Bengaluru, the initiative is likely to take off on March 1, this year.

As per sources, the train had been sanctioned during the interim railway budget presented in 2014. Accordingly, the train was supposed to depart from Bengaluru at 8.30 am and arrive in Mangaluru at 9.15 pm daily.

The train was supposed to depart from Mangaluru at 6.30 am and reach the state capital at 7.30 pm.

As the promise was not fulfilled, Udupi Railway Yatri Sangha filed a writ petition in the High Court. It was only after the court issued a warning that the railway authorities agreed to begin operating the train before March 31 this year. However, reports have stated that the train would begin operating from March 1.