Staff of South Western Railway today assembled at the zone’s Rail Soudha headquarters to pay respects to Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi. The MoSR and Member of Parliament from Belagavi constituency passed away on 23rd September due to COVID-19 at AIIMS Delhi.
All the establishments and offices of South Western Railway paid their respects to the departed by observing two minutes of silence and offering floral tributes to the portrait of Late Suresh Angadi.
Offering condolences and sharing his thoughts, General Manager Ajay Kumar Singh said that the Late Suresh Angadi was a self made man from a humble background and achieved great success in all the fields that he entered, with his determination and hard work.
Railway users from the region also expressed their sorrow.
“It is a shocker. He was a workaholic, striving to bring trains to the underdeveloped areas of Karnataka. He was instrumental in getting Vijayapura a proper connection with coastal Karnataka. He will be missed most,” said Akshay Inamdar, a native of Vijayapura.
During his short stint as Minister of State of Railways, he was also instrumental in getting more funds and projects allocated for SWR. During the prevailing pandemic, he relentlessly worked for ensuring that the Indian Railways kept moving to ensure that the supply chain is maintained, said a statement from SWR.
GM Ajay Kumar Singh said that due to the MoSR’s initiative, two new lines between Kotturu and Harihar and Ambewadi – Dharwad which were closed down for long time could be opened for passenger traffic.
In August itself, three historic events were conducted online – Dedication of Railway Museum, Hubballi to the nation, Flagging off of first-ever RORO service from SWR and dedication of Arasalu station redeveloped as Malgudi museum, SWR’s statement noted.
“Suresh Angadi Sir was a very simple person, ever willing to help. He was a humble social worker. His efforts to improve Belagavi have brought us under the Udaan scheme, more rail connectivity, and improvement to rail infrastructure in Karnataka as a whole. He ensured Belagavi was included in the Smart City programme. His death leaves a big void, specifically in Belagavi,” says Venkatesh Kulkarni of Belagavi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal also mourned his passing last night.
Milestones during MoSR Late Suresh Angadi’s stint.
Flagging off of trains
- Special train between Belagavi & Bengaluru
- increase in frequency of MEMU between Mysuru & Bengaluru
- Special train between Vaso-da-gama and Belagavi
- new biweekly Express train from Hubballi to Chennai
- extension of Train No.16316 Kochuveli – Bengaluru Daily Express
- passenger services between Hosapete&Kotturu
- Vijayapura-Yesvantpur Special train
- Extension of Vishwamanava Express and regularization of T. No. 06525/06526
- Passenger service on Alnawar-Ambewadi new line
- Train No.0621/22 Shivamogga Town – Chennai – Shivamogga Town,
- Train No.0623/24 Shivamogga Town – Raydurga – Shivamogga Town
- Train No.0625/26 Mysuru -Shivamogga Town – Mysuru
- Train No.0650/51 between Shivamogga Town – Yesvantpur – Shivamoga Town four days a week Tatkal special express
- Intercity express between Vijayapura – Hubballi – Vijayapura
- Increase in frequency of Shvamogga – Chennai – Shvamogga Express from weekly to biweekly
- Train No.16595 Yesvantpur Karwar Daily Express
- RO-RO service from Bengaluru ( Nelamangala) To Solapur (Bale)
Dedication of Projects
- Inauguration of Hosapete-Kotturu section
- Inauguration of Alnawar-Ambewadi new line
- Inauguration of satellite office of RRB Bengaluru at Hubballi
- Dedication to the nation, ROB at Desai Cross, Hubballi
- Dedication of Rail Museum at Hubballi
Dedication of Passenger amenities
- Opening of DudhSagar Halt station
- Dedication of Utkrisht Rake of Rani Chennama Express
- Inauguration of 3rd entry at KSR Bengaluru Railway Station
- Inauguration of 2nd Entry at Hubballi Railway Station
- Conversion of Yesvantpur-Vijayapura- Yesvantpur Train to LHB coaches
- Inauguration of Lift at Shivamogga Railway Station & Inauguration of restored Arasalu Railway Station as Museum Malgudi and Platform Extension
- Opening of second entry and circulating area at Davangere was also done in his tenure
Record number of new trains -fifty (50) introduced in last 16 months .They are as following
| Sl No. | Train No. | From | To | Date of Introduction | Nature |
| 17303/17304 | UBL | GGVT | 04.06.19 Ex UBL | Daily Express | |
| 06525/06526 | SBC | BGM | 29.06.2019 Ex.SBC, Ex.BGM 30.06.19 | Daily Superfast tatkal Exp | |
| 06921/06922 | BGM | VSG | Ex VSG & BGM on 06.09.19 | Bi-weekly special pass | |
| 17313/17314 | UBL | MAS (Via BAY,GTL,RU) | 17.09.19 Ex.UBL, 18.09.19 Ex.MAS | Bi-weekly Express | |
| 76527/76528 | YPR | TK | 30.09.19 Ex.YPR, 30.09.19 Ex.TK as special(06597/06598) From 15.08.19 on wards regular SEWA DEMU Service. | 6 days in a wk SEWA DEMU Train | |
| 06559 | SBC | WFD | 09.11.19 on either side (Notification issued13.10.19) | 6 days in a wk DEMU SPL Train | |
| 06560 | WFD | BNC | 09.11.19 on either side ( Notification issued 13.10.19) | ||
| 06565/06566 | SBC | HUP | 01.11.2019 on either direction | 6 days in a wk MEMU SPL Train | |
| 06543/06544 | WFD | KQZ | Yet to implement Notification issued on 13.10.19 | 6 days in a wk DEMU SPL Train | |
| 06545/06546 | SBC | BWT | 09.11.19 on either side (Notification issued 18.10.19) | 6 days in a wk MEMU SPL Train | |
| 06541/06542 | YPR | BJP | Ex YPR-22.10.19 Ex BJP-23.10.19 | Daily Express special via DVG,KTY,HPT,KBL,GDG | |
| 02089/02090 | YPR | SMET | Ex YPR- 15.10.19 Ex SMET- 15.10.19 | Weekly Janashatabdi Express special | |
| 56923/56924 | DWR | AVA | Ex. DWR & Ex.AVA on 04.11.2019 | Daily Passenger | |
| 07310/07309 | VSG | YPR | Ex: VSG; 10.11.19 Ex; YPR :08.11.19 | 5 days in a week Tatkal spl Ex VSG except MON,SAT. Ex YPR Except TUE, SUN | |
| 07327/07328 | BJP | MAJN | Ex. BJP on 11.11.2019 | Ex. MAJN Ex. 12.11.2019 | |
| 06221/06222 | MYS | SMET | Ex MYS : 11.11.19 Ex SMET:14.11.19 | Weekly Tatkal spl Ex MYS : Mon Ex SMET:Thu | |
| 06223/06224 | SMET | MAS | Ex SMET: 11.11.19 Ex MAS:12.11.19 | Weekly Tatkal spl Ex SMET : Mon Ex MAS: Tue | |
| 06225/06226 | SMET | RU | Ex SMET: 13.11.19 Ex RU:13.11.19 | Weekly Tatkal spl Ex SMET : Wed Ex MAS: Wed | |
| 06521/06522 | BNC | DMM | E.x. BNC: 29.11.2019 Ex.DMM: 31.03.2020 | Spl in place of 56304/56303 Pass | |
| 06929/06930 | UBL | AVA | Ex. UBL on 13.12.2019 & Ex. AVA on 13.12.2019 | Revision in timings of T No.; 56923/56924 DWR-AVA-DWR Pass also wef: 13.12.2019 | |
| 06561/06562 | MYS | YNK | Ex. MYS. 16.12.2019. Ex. YNK 17.12.2019 | 16 CAR MEMEU Spl | |
| 06539/06540 | YPR | SMET | 24.01.2020 to 31.03.2020 | Regular service Wkly 4 Days ( Tue, wed Thur & Fri )on either direction | |
| 06925/06926 | BGM | SED | 04.01.2020 for UFA | Daily Jansadaran Pass Spl | |
| 07329/07320 | UBL | BJP | –17.02.2020 Ex-UBl 18.02.2020 Ex-BJP | Daily Intercity Exp SPl | |
| 16595/16596 | YPR | VSG | Ex. YPR on 08.03.2020. Ex. KAWR on 09.03.2020 | Daily Express ( Inaugurated T No. 06587 YPR-KAWR Exp Spl on 07.036.2020 at YPR | |
| 06551/06552 | KAWR | VSG | 08.03.2020 Ex. VSG & 09.03.2020 Ex. KAWR | Daily Express Spl |
In addition to the same Angadi laid foundation stone in March 2019 for new station building at Belagavi which will be completed in next 6 months .Also long pending demand of direct railway line between Dharwad and Belagavi via Kittur was sanctioned during his tenure.
He inspected all the main routes in South Western Railway along with Railway officers. He conducted meetings with Members of Parliament to know the needs of their constituencies and used to immediately direct Railway officials to take up works immediately.
