Late running and non-functioning of AC on trains from Visakhapatnam to Tirupati and back seem to be a recurring feature. “The AC was not functioning in our coach from the starting point at Tirupati. Complaints to railway staff went unheeded till Vijayawada,” says D. Vijayalakshmi, who travelled by Tirumala Express from Tirupathi on July 29. “At Vijayawada Junction, only after a passenger threatened to Tweet to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu the staff concerned had got down to rectify the problem. Our train arrived one-and-a-half hours late at Visakhapatnam Junction,” she said.
Two women passengers, who travelled from Visakhapatnam to Tirupati by 08573 Visakhapatnam – Tirupati weekly special, had a harrowing experience, when they travelled in the 3 AC coach on July 24.
Ch. Divya Kala and Ch. Lakshmi went to Visakhapatnam station more than an hour in advance as their train was scheduled to leave at 10.55 p.m. and it could be risk for women to go to the railway station alone in the night. The AC in the upper class waiting hall did not function and the departure of the train was delayed by 50 minutes at the starting point.
The train reached Tirupati 1 hour 46 minutes late and the AC also did not function properly on the train. Duvvada Railway Users’ Association secretary K. Eswar wrote to SCR on the delay and the non-functioning of the AC on the train.
He received a reply from Additional DRM, Guntakal, saying the primary maintenance of the train was being done in Visakhapatnam and hence, failure of AC fell under the purview of the Visakhapatnam Division.
He had attributed the delay in the arrival at Tirupati to the train being taken 1 hour 50 minutes late at Gudur, which is the interchanging point. The issue of punctuality of the train was due to late handing over by the Vijayawada Division at Gudur.
About 43 pairs of trains and some special trains stop at the Duvvada Railway Station. Thousands of people residing in the industrial belt of the city are utilising this station but there are no buses from the station to Simhachalam, Pendurthy and Gopalapatnam and also the Steel Plant Township, Aganampudi. The Duvvada Railway Users’ Association appealed to the RTC authorities to ply more buses connecting different destinations in the city from the Duvvada Railway Station.
B. Madhu Gopal
