MARGAO
Is there a way out to resolve the taxi fare imbroglio as travel from the Manohar International Airport at Mopa to Margao or Benaulim or remote Sanguem and Canacona in down South becomes an expensive proposition?
Kadamba Transport Corporation’s electric buses too seemed to have not offered solace to air passengers with the State-owned Corporation coming out with a hefty bus fare pegged at Rs 500 to travel to Margao from Mopa.
Well, why not explore the services of the Konkan Railway Corporation to ferry air passengers from Mopa to down South at cheaper fares, as a train journey from the Pernem or Thivim railway station may cost less than Rs 100 to reach Margao. In fact, railways may offer a solution if the Goa government evinces interest in making train travel accessible to air passengers.
With the Konkan railway line passing North-South direction, right from Pernem, where the airport is located and Canacona, the State’s extreme southern point, shuttle train service between Pernem-Margao-Canacona or Tivim-Margao may come as a relief to the air passengers, not just to passengers from Goa, but from the neighbouring border areas of Karwar.
Remember former BJP Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had sanctioned central funds to KRC to test the Sky Bus technology, which was scheduled to be implemented on the Mapusa-Margao route to facilitate rapid urban transportation. It’s another matter that the sky bus project was shelved following a mishap during a test ride. Further testing of the technology was abandoned after the arrival of the metro rail on the railway scene a decade and half ago.
KRC senior official, Baban Ghatge says the railways will be more than willing to explore the possibility of running shuttle trains between Pernem to Margao and Canacona to cater to the needs of air passengers provided such a proposal comes from the Goa government. “For the Konkan railway to start a train service from Mopa to Margao and Canacona, the offer needs to come from the Goa government. The Konkan railway can then explore the possibility of running the shuttle service before mooting a proposal to the Railway Ministry for sanction”, he said.
Pending the introduction of the train shuttle service, Ghatge said the government can introduce a bus shuttle service between Mopa to Pernem or Thivim railway stations, to facilitate air passengers to take the train journey from the airport to South Goa.
“Most of the long distance trains halt at the Thivim railway station, including the Jan Shatabdi Express. If passengers are willing to take the train journey, the government should arrange buses from the airport to Thivim railway station. The passengers may be able to travel to Margao from Thivim by the Jan Shatabdi express by spending less than Rs 100 for the train fare”, Ghatge added.
