Monkeys have become a nuisance at the Tadepalligudem Railway Station, says Ch. Srinivasa Rao of Visakhapatnam, who came from Tadepalligudem to the city by the AP AC Express on Sunday evening. He has sent a picture of two simians rummaging through the wastes, thrown right on the platform at Tadepalligudem, captured on his mobile phone.
“Coming to the AP AC Express, the train and the running were good but it stopped at many places en route. It was stopped at Duvvada Railway Station for about 15 minutes to give way to another Super fast Express. Finally, our train reached Visakhapatnam at 7.30 p.m., 45 minutes behind schedule,” says Mr. Srinivasa Rao.
“The normal fare from Tadepalligudem to Vizag on this train was Rs.540. I had booked my ticket, three days prior to my journey and the fare was normal. But, my cousin, Balaji was puzzled to note that the Tatkal fare was Rs.1,200, when he tried to book the ticket on Saturday,” he says.
Dr. Pradeep, who had travelled by the II AC coach in the Visakhapatnam-Kollam weekly express, a few weeks ago, was perturbed by the collection of variable rates from passengers for food by the supplier.
There is no pantry car in the long distance train.
A woman, who was travelling with her daughter in the same coach, ordered for vegetarian food when the supplier came to take the order.
The supplier charged Rs.70 for the rice, potato curry, sambar and curd. Later, she came to know from the passenger, sitting opposite her after his berth was confirmed, that the supplier had taken Rs.170 for the same menu.
Though the coach was clean, the water in the toilet ran out in about an hour after the train started from Visakhapatnam. The water was filled in the overhead tank only at Vijayawada Junction.
The woman passenger was shocked when the stall keeper on the platform at Vijayawada, charged Rs.40 for a packet of chips and a 1-litre water bottle, which normally would cost not more than Rs.25. When she pulled him up, he returned Rs.10.
