The Railways has been urged to extend Train Nos. 12685/12686 Chennai Central-Mangalore Central-Chennai Central Superfast Express up to Kumta in Uttara Kannada district effectively utilising the train rake’s idling time of nearly 10 hours. Train No. 12685 on its arrival at Mangalore Central at 7.10 am remains idle till its departure at 4.55 pm. Since the rake’s primary maintenance was being done at Chennai, not much work was involved with it at Mangalore Central and hence, the idling time of 10 hours could best be utilised by extending it to Kumta.

The proposed extension would not in any way affect its existing schedule. The service towards Kumta could start at 7.40 am to reach the destination at 11.40 am. In the return direction, the train could start at noon from Kumta to reach Mangalore Central at 4 pm, undergo watering and leave at its scheduled departure time of 4.55 pm. The extension would help hundreds of travellers between Chennai and coastal Karnataka, beyond Mangalore.