If you have been to Bengaluru, you must have heard about the famous Putani Express. Probably some of you might have even taken a ride on it. The services of this train were discontinued because of damaged tracks and other issues. But here is the good news, Putani Express is all set to come back this March at Cubbon Park, and we are so excited!
Putani Express Is All Set To Make A Comeback
Putani Express is Bengaluru’s first-ever toy train inside Cubbon park at the Jawahar Bal Bhavan. The train service is all set to make a comeback on the tracks on March 8, 2023. This iconic feature of Tech city, Bengaluru was discontinued in January 2019 as it was declared dangerous due to damaged tracks. The railways have successfully completed the restoration work, and the train services will be open for people in March on the said date.
The word ‘Putani’ in Kannada means tiny or little. Many people who speak Kannada call their kids by this name back home. In the year 1968, on October 9, these train services were inaugurated and flagged off by Saradabai Patil and Shakuntala Hegde. Saradabai was the wife of Veerendra Patil, who was the then Chief Minister of Mysore, and Shakuntala was the wife of Ramakrishna Hegde, the then minister.
#Bengaluru‘s first toy train, Putani Express in Cubbon Park to chug once again from March 8. Introduced in Oct 9, 1968, train was an iconic symbol of Garden City, but halted in 2019 due to track damages @SWRRLY undertook repair works for ₹12 lakh and train is all set for 2nd run pic.twitter.com/E7EfWX6qRX
— Kamran (@CitizenKamran) February 28, 2023
Everyone’s Favourite Toy Train In Bengaluru
Putani Express was everyone’s favourite, from kids to adults. The train had five open-air carriages and ran on biofuel. The open-air carriages were the highlight. Jawahar Bal Bhavan saw huge queues of people as everyone loved to enjoy the toy train rides. For many years, the train was green before being painted multi-coloured and receiving a new engine. The railway authorities carried out a thorough check of the train and the tracks on Friday before giving the green signal for the inauguration.
The restoration work of the Jawahar Bal Bhavan began under the initiative of Bengaluru Smart City Limited, which led to the restoration of the tracks. South Western Railway’s Bengaluru Division was approached for restoration by BSCL Managing Director Srinivas K. The work began on February 14, and the trains received a facelift.
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We are excited about the comeback, are you? Let us know below!
Cover Image Courtesy: @kamran/Twitter