Bengaluru,  The South Western Railway (SWR) would operate special trains in Karnataka from April 9-14 to enable people to travel in the state, as the indefinite bus strike has disrupted mobility, an official said on Wednesday.

"In response to the state government's request for running special trains during the ensuing holidays, special trains will operate between Bengaluru and Belagavi in the state's northwest region from Friday to Tuesday," a railway official said in a statement.

As 37,000 employees of the state-run road transport corporations went on strike since Wednesday demanding wage revision, Chief Secretary P. Ravikumar wrote to zonal railway general manager Gajanan Malya to run special trains between Bengaluru and Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Karwar, Shivamogga and Vijayapura to clear the rust of passengers for festivals like Ugadi on April 13.

"The bus strike has caused hardships to the travelling public as drivers and conductors have refused to work till their demand for pay parity is fulfilled," Ravikumar said in the letter.