The prestigious Ongole bull will figure prominently at the railway station here, which is all set for a makeover.
This was part of the efforts of the Railways to attract more passengers and also provide a host of improved facilities, including escalators, lifts and a foot over-bridge, Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager R. Dhananjayulu said after inauguration of ergonomically designed waiting halls developed with funds sanctioned by Ongole MP Y.V. Subba Reddy.
The Ongole railway station with a footfall of 21,000 passengers each day will get a face-lift with addition of four escalators.
Construction of a lift on Platform No. 1 would be completed within a month, he said, adding that in the next two to three years, Ongole ‘A class’ railway station would see an addition of a host of passenger amenities at a cost of ₹6 crore.
A food plaza would be developed at the sprawling reservation complex for the benefit of not only railway passengers but also general public, he added.
Noting with concern inadequate patronage for Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs), he said passengers could avoid standing in long queues risking missing of trains at the time of departure. ATVMs provide a hassle-free ticket buying experience at the touch screen-based ticketing kiosks operated using smart cards 24x7, he said.
The MP urged the DRM to open a railway ticket counter on the eastern side of the railway station and a road underpass to replace the Agraharam railway gate as over 150 trains passed the ever-expanding Ongole city each day and hampered expansion of the city on the eastern side.
