Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered issue of notice to the Indian Railways on a PIL petition, which has sought a direction to the authorities to operate exclusive daily overnight trains between Bengaluru and Karwar, and Bengaluru and Kannur in Kerala on the recently commissioned Kunigal railway line.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar passed the order on the petition filed by one Sanjay Revankar, a resident of Kadwad village, Karwar taluk, in Uttara Kannada district.

Pointing out that though the General Manager (GM) of South Western Railway had convened a meeting on March 23 as per court’s earlier direction, and heard the petitioner’s plea for operating the train in the new route, the GM could not pass any reasoned and speaking order till now.

The GM, the petitioner claimed, “is apparently awaiting instructions from the Railway Board, apparently, who is biased and has been throwing a spoke in the wheels for more than two decades... at the behest of the political lobby from Kerala, and also at the instance of a section of corrupt officials, who have developed an unholy nexus with Dakshina Kannada district private bus operator’s lobby for extraneous reasons.”

Pointing out a tweet by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu that the new line would save four hours of travel time between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, the petitioner said the passengers travelling to Karwar could not get this benefit of reduction in travelling time as the present trains to Karwar/Kannur travels on the old route, via Mysuru.