Very soon, trains, both coaching and freight, on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru / Karwar sector will run on electric traction end-to-end, with the Railway Electrification (RE) on the 55 km Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section nearing completion.
At present, trains on this sector still run on diesel traction and could be the only sector in the State where trains were operated using diesel locomotives. Rail roads between Mangaluru and Subrahmanya Road and Sakleshpur-Chikkabanawara/ Arsikere/ Mysuru were already electrified.
Day train services on Bengaluru-Mangaluru/Karwar sector to resume on December 16
Coaching trains that require loco change at Mangaluru Central, namely, KSR Bengaluru-Kannur-KSR Bengaluru Express (16511/12) and SMVT Bengaluru-Murdeshwar-SMVT Bengaluru Express (16585/586) operate on electric traction between Mangaluru Central and Kannur/ Murdeshwar after the loco change in Central.
KSR Bengaluru-Karwar-KSR Bengaluru Panchaganga Express (16595/596) that bypasses both Mangaluru Central and Junction runs completely on diesel traction though Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd., network is completely electrified. This was because absence of loco changing facilities between Mangaluru and Udupi.
