Mangaluru: Railway passengers have demanded that the line between Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction Railway Stations be doubled so that the additional platform at Central could be utilized to the maximum.

With the budget sanctioning funds for doubling of lines between Netravathi Cabin [Kannur-Mangaluru line] and construction of another platform at Mangaluru Central, the work is said to be completed in about 18 months.

Sources say that the doubling of tracks between Mangaluru Central and Junction would facilitate introduction of more trains towards Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Meanwhile, it is said that trains arriving to Central had to wait for nearly half an hour at Junction due to lack of tracks.

However, sources in the railway say that Southern Railway as of then did not have any proposal to double the Mangaluru Central-Mangaluru Junction line, but could accommodate a few more trains as the line was not congested.

Further they said that traffic congestion at Mangaluru Junction had been reduced considerably after the commissioning of Jokatte Station and would further reduce once the Mangaluru Junction-Panambur line and the tunnel at Kulashekara was completed.