Passengers using Subrahmanya Road Railway Station in Dakshina Kannada district are facing a peculiar problem during the monsoon: the newly refurbished platform shelters are failing to keep rainwater away from the platforms.
The station at Nettana in Kadaba taluk was developed under the Centre’s Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS). However, passengers say the design of portions of the platform shelters is causing rainwater to fall directly onto areas used for boarding and getting off trains.
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The problem is particularly significant because Subrahmanya Road station, identified by the code SBHR, serves thousands of pilgrims travelling to prominent religious destinations such as Kukke Subrahmanya, Dharmasthala and Southadka. The station is located around 12 km from Kukke Subrahmanya and witnesses heavy passenger movement, particularly during the pilgrimage season.
Several important train services, including Bengaluru-Kannur, Bengaluru-Karwar, Bengaluru-Murdeshwar, Yesvantpur-Mangaluru Junction, Karwar-Yesvantpur and Vijayapura-Mangaluru Central Express services, use the station.
The region receives rainfall for nearly five months every year, making adequate platform protection particularly important.
Shelter design blamed
Prasad K. G. Nettana, president of the Subrahmanya Road Railway Balakedarara Samithi, said the problem stems from the design of the shelter edges.
According to him, the outer edge of the platform roof should have been designed to slope or open towards the railway track, allowing rainwater to fall away from the platform. Instead, the edges have been folded inward, causing water to flow towards passengers waiting on the platforms.
Videos and photographs of passengers being drenched while boarding and alighting from trains have highlighted the issue.
The problem was reportedly raised on social media in June. In response, the Mysuru division of South Western Railway said the platform shelters had been constructed according to drawings approved by the Gati Shakti Unit.
The railway authorities also acknowledged the concern regarding rainwater falling onto the platform because of the inward-folded edge. The divisional railway administration reportedly assured that the concerned department had been instructed to take corrective action at the earliest.
Corrective work still incomplete
Passenger representatives say little has changed since that assurance.
Prasad said nearly two months have passed since the promise of corrective action, but a substantial portion of the platform shelter continues to expose passengers to rain. He said some corrective work was carried out on a limited section, but a considerable length of the platform remains vulnerable.
The issue has also raised questions about the quality and supervision of redevelopment work undertaken under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had recently listed Subrahmanya Road among the 12 stations in Karnataka developed under the scheme, with the project reportedly costing ₹23.73 crore.
While several ABSS projects have progressed to inauguration, Subrahmanya Road station is yet to be formally inaugurated. Bantwal railway station, another station in the Mysuru division developed under the scheme, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with 74 other stations on July 17.
Mysuru Divisional Railway Manager Mudit Mittal, when shown the video of the rainwater problem, said the corrective work was “on the job” and would be completed shortly.
For passengers and local railway associations, the expectation is that the promised repairs will finally resolve the problem before the continuing monsoon creates further inconvenience.
