Passengers have been complaining regularly for the past few years about inordinate delays in the running of various trains coming to Visakhapatnam from Vijayawada and beyond, after crossing Duvvada.
R.V.U. Vamsidhar has lodged a grievance with the Railway Board on the Public Grievance Portal in this regard. The grievance was forwarded to the East Coast Railway (ECoR) headquarters in Bhubaneswar.
The ECoR officials noted that a survey has been sanctioned to study the demand for a third line from Visakhapatnam to Gopalapatnam to ease the movement of traffic. They, however, noted that there was no proposal to lay an additional line to Simhachalam North but said demand for four additional platforms could be worked out in consultation with the Commercial Department, but there was no such proposal at the moment
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Mr. Vamsidhar said in his complaint: “Vizag, with over 20 lakh population is the largest city in Andhra Pradesh. It is situated on the Howrah-Chennai main line and is a Divisional Headquarters of Waltair Division.
It handles around 177 arrivals/departures of trains and thousands of passengers not only from Visakhapatnam but also from the neighbouring districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari districts utilise the station.
He noted that adding two more lines and four more platforms would reduce the detention of trains at the outer and will also meet future requirements besides helping the Indian Railways in reducing losses due to wastage of fuel and power.
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“The ECoR reply indicates that Waltair Division has not sent any proposal for construction of additional platforms at Visakhapatnam Junction, though a survey for construction of four additional platforms was done during the tenure of the then DRM Indra Ghosh, about a decade ago,” says Mr. Vamsidhar.
Only a new railway zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam can solve the grievances of the region, he said.
(Reporting by B. Madhu Gopal)