The Dakshina Kannada District Railway Users Forum has launched a petition campaign demanding the restoration of the Mangaluru Central–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Navyug Express (Train No. 16687/88), the only direct train linking Mangaluru to Jammu & Kashmir. The train service, which was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, has not been reinstated, leaving lakhs of passengers from Coastal Karnataka and other parts of South India without direct rail access to North India.