3 months ago
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An originating nonstop bid to Bengaluru continues to elude Visakhapatnam, astir 2 decades aft the lone originating bid – Prasanthi Express – was extended to Bhubaneswar, ignoring the protests of radical successful the Vizag region. This is contempt overwhelming patronage, consistently precocious request and assurances fixed by successive Railway Ministers.
Incidentally, originating trains to Bengaluru run from comparatively smaller cities similar Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Kakinada and Machilipatnam, but the largest metropolis successful Andhra Pradesh continues to beryllium ignored by the railways, accidental obstruction users.
Three caller explicit trains were precocious announced to Bengaluru from assorted destinations successful northbound India. However, each 3 volition bypass the main presumption – Visakhapatnam junction – and alternatively tally done Duvvada, Pendurti and Kottavalasa.
In effect to RTI queries seeking reasons for bypassing the Visakhapatnam junction, railway authorities replied: “Engine reversal astatine Visakhapatnam junction is resulting successful a hold of 20 minutes.” Interestingly, the SMVT Bengaluru-Alipurduar-SMVT Bengaluru are Amrit Bharat trains and bash not necessitate motor reversal, arsenic the trains person engines astatine some ends.
Further, Train no: 12552/Kamakhya - SMVT Bengaluru AC SF Express, Train no: 22863 Howrah - SMVT Bengaluru AC SF Express and Train no: 12245 Howrah - SMVT Bengaluru Duronto Express (all moving successful aforesaid slot) are besides being routed done Simhachalam North and Duvvada, contempt the long-pending request to reroute them done the metropolis station.
“A premium superfast peculiar explicit bid operated by the South Western Railway (SWR) successful December 2014 betwixt Bengaluru-Vizag was a hit. A play ace accelerated tatkal fare peculiar (06579/80) operated betwixt October 2016 to November 2018 had an mean occupancy complaint of 135%,” BJP person N. Gajapathi Rao, who was past a ZRUCC Member, wrote to the past Railway Minister Piyush Goyal successful November 2019.
Trains person been operated from Vizag to antithetic terminals successful Bengaluru similar Krishnarajapuram, Yesvantpur and Yelahanka for the past 10 years with abbreviated breaks successful between, and proceed to tally arsenic ‘specials’ contempt their precocious patronage.
Train no. 8915 Visakhapatnam-Bengaluru Cantonment (BNC) had an mean occupancy of astir 140% betwixt April 1 2023 and March 31, 2025.
“In the lack of an originating train, and owed to deficiency of berths connected passing trains, passengers from Visakhapatnam metropolis question by the Ratnachal Express to Samalkot to drawback the Kakinada – Bengaluru Seshadri regular explicit oregon question to Vijayawada to drawback different nonstop trains,” says Daniel Joseph, a Member of Visakhapatnam Railway Station Consultative Committee.
Rail users accidental that an originating regular explicit bid with convenient timings is the lone solution to conscionable the overwhelming request betwixt Vizag and Bengaluru and volition assistance debar hardship for the radical successful the Visakhapatnam region.
