The Tirupati – Visakahapatnam – Tirupati AC Double-Decker Express, operated by the South Central Railway (SCR), is receiving a good response as an intercity express between Tirupati and Vijayawada, Tirupati and Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry and Rajahmundry and Visakhapatnam.
“The train was scheduled to depart from Rajahmundry at 7.10 a.m. but left at 8.20 a.m. as its arrival was delayed. I learnt that it was given slack time. The view from the upper and lower decks was excellent,” said S. Prabhakara Rao of Rajahmundry, who came along with his wife Krishnaveni and 18-month-old daughter Pranathi.
Catering staff supplied snacks all through the journey and we had no problem. Despite the late arrival at Rajahmundry, the train managed to reach Visakhapatnam at 11.15 a.m., just 15 minutes behind schedule.
Though the timings from Tirupati are good, the timings in the return trip from Visakhapatnam are inconvenient for people going to Rajahmundry (1.25 a.m.), Vijayawada (4 a.m.) and even Tirupati (11.35 a.m.).
“The non-availability of a pantry car in the long distance 18519 Visakhapatnam – Mumbai LTT express causes distress to passengers, especially senior citizens and women, who cannot run for snacks and beverages at intermediate stations, where the train halts for a few minutes,” says B. Venkateswara Rao of Visakhapatnam, who travelled by this train on Feb 2.
“Most south Indians are habituated to having coffee early in the morning and we had to go without coffee as vendors were not selling coffee or even snacks in the train. Even at intermediate stations no vendor was coming near our coach (3rd AC). Very few vendors turned up during the journey and they were only selling tea and they did not even have snacks. One can imagine the plight of senior citizens and children.”
“A few persons, who were travelling in our coach, asked the TTE as why a few stations en route were bypassed by the train. They had purchased tickets for those stations and they had no information on the diversion. The TTE also seemed to be unaware of the diversion but gave them unsolicited advice that they should have checked the Internet before beginning their journey,” says Mr. Venkateswara Rao.
“The passengers said they had booked their tickets through IRCTC and they can’t be expected to check the Internet regularly”.
Reporting By B. Madhu Gopal
