The Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) has alleged that stepmotherly treatment has been meted out to Visakhapatnam railway station by the Railway Board, East Coast Railway (ECoR) and Waltair Division authorities.
In a letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, ZRUCC Member N. Gajapathi Rao alleged that that the Southern Railway was interested in extending the tri-weekly 16780 Ramaeswaram – Tiruapthi Meenakshi Express to Visakhaptnam. But, the ECoR evinced no interest in the proposal.
He said that the South Western Railway was ready to allot a slot for two days a week to run express train from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru on the condition that the rake be provided by the ECoR. “The ECoR are silent on this proposal. Similarly, there is no train between Visakhapatnam and Varanasi. Several pleas have been submitted seeking extension of bi-weekly Varanasi-Sambalpur train to Visakhapatnam, but there has been no response. The ECoR has, however, extended some trains such as Prasanthi, Visakha and Chennai Express originating and terminating in Visakhapatnam, to Bhubaneswar,” Mr. Gajapathi Rao said.
He further noted that the decades-old request for extension of the bi-weekly Swarna Jayanthi Express to Jammutavi/Katra is yet to be considered by the Railway Board.
‘Meagre allocation’
In a separate letter, the ZRUCC member decried the meagre allocation for laying of the 3rd line from Visakhapatnam to Gopalapatnam. “It needs ₹40 crore for completion of the 7-km 3rd railway line. An abstract estimate and Rate of Return (RoR) was sent to the Railway Board on April 20, 2019. The non-availability of the third line is resulting in the bypassing of many trains, without touching Visakhapatnam railway station. A third line will help avoid the detention of trains for hours together in the city suburbs, he said. Around 20 pairs of trains are bypassing Visakhapatnam and suggestions given to overcome the issue are being overlooked,” he added.