The once prestigious Super Fast ‘Coromandel Express’ has been literally reduced to a ‘fast passenger’ in Odisha. This was the feeling of a group of passengers who took the ‘prestigious train’ from Visakhapatnam to Kharagpur last week.
Coromandel Express stops at seven stations – Brahmapur, Khurda Road junction, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack junction, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak and Balasore – in Odisha, but it has only one halt in the jurisdiction of ECoR in Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam junction.
The toilets in the train were stinking and the bolts of some them were giving way, giving rise to security concerns. The coaches were also unclean. Ironically, cleaning staff came with a brush and other materials just as the train was about to reach Kharagpur. The train would anyway reach its destination in another couple of hours. Passengers returning from Kharagpur to Visakhapatnam on January 23 were left with no choice but to opt for the Howrah-Chennai Central Super Fast Special AC Express as there was no accommodation in other trains. This train, which had LHB coaches, was spotlessly clean. The ‘super fast’ has only four scheduled halts – Kharagpur, Bhubaneswar, Duvvada and Vijayawada – between Howrah and Chennai Central.
The train had, however, stopped at several unscheduled places and ultimately reached Chennai over three hours late. This train reaches Duvvada at 3.03 a.m. There would be no public transport or even local trains from Duvvada to Visakhapatnam. Anticipating this, a passenger got down when the train alighted on the outskirts of Kothavalasa junction around 2.45 a.m. and reached the RTC Bus Station, which was right across the road, beside the railway track. He took the first bus at 4 a.m. and he reached the city by 5 a.m.
Air Costa has launched ‘Happy Republic Day’ offer to mark the 66th Republic Day.
Tickets can be booked with one way fares starting as low as Rs.1950 (all-inclusive), according to Capt. K.N. Babu, CEO of the airline.
The booking under the special offer can be done till January 31 for the travel period from February 15 to April 15, 2015. The fares are for economy class and are non-refundable. The sale is applicable on bookings made onwww.aircosta.in, online travel portals, Air Costa’s Reservation Centre and at Airport Ticketing Offices.
The fares can be availed on the Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada, Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada-Hyderabad, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru and Hyderabad-Vijayawada sectors.
