Come summer, and there is tremendous demand for berths on trains. People have been demanding special trains to Tirupati, Chennai and Bangalore for over a month now. The East Coast Railway (ECoR) authorities seem to be taking their own sweet time to take a decision on the demand for operation of summer specials from Visakhapatnam to these destinations.
The highest-revenue earning division in ECoR zone certainly deserves a better deal in the allocation of special trains. Thankfully, APSRTC and private operators have chipped in and are working overtime to cater to huge demands of passengers, at least to some extent.
RTC, which is already operating AC buses, from Vizag to these destinations has given an added advantage to its passengers by not only reducing the fares but also the distance by 37-km by re-routing the buses. What more can the RTC passengers ask for? These buses are timed to reach their destinations by 8 a.m. or 9 a.m.
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Train passengers travelling in AC coaches seem to be more at risk of late. Fires and thefts are on the rise in the AC coaches. Railway SP (Vijayawada Division) Ch. Syam Prasad had issued instructions to his men 10 days ago to open fire, if necessary, on robber gangs. He also sought the cooperation of TTEs, TCs and railway staff in controlling thefts on trains.
A robber gang is said to have made a vain bid to loot the passengers of the Godavari Express coming to Vizag at Duvvada Station in the early hours of Sunday.
An alert passenger, who was awake at that time, raised an alarm and the gang members dropped the stolen bags and jumped out of the moving train and escaped. Ironically, while the Railway Police have sought the help of railway staff in checking such crimes, the Railways have reduced the number of AC mechanics, attenders and even TTEs on trains. Perhaps, even the thieves are aware of the shortage of staff.
