There is nothing for people of Visakhapatnam to cheer in the new Railway Time Table issued by the East Coast Railway (ECoR), say rail users.
There are no new trains, no increase in frequency of existing trains and no extension of important trains, terminating at Khurda and Puri to Visakhapatnam, according to comments on social media.
To add insult to injury, the ECoR authorities changed the timings of a few trains by just 5 to 15 minutes. Though the 22415 Visakhapatnam – New Delhi AP Express departure timing has been revised to leave at 8.35 a.m. instead of 7.50 a.m., it does not make much of a difference as the demand, since the introduction of the super fast long-distance train, was that it should leave late in the evenings so that it would reach New Delhi early in the mornings.
The progress of railways in Andhra Pradesh in general and North Andhra, in particular, can be achieved only under a new railway zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, they felt.
A round table organised by ‘Uttarandhra Charcha Vedika’ at Palasa in Srikakulam district on Sunday urged the Centre to sanction the new zone immediately as it would spur economic development in all the three districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam.
The Visakhapatnam – Vijayawada - Visakhapatnam Intercity express has been given two names in the Up and Down directions.
Train No. 1217 Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada express is named as ‘Ratnachalam’, instead of Ratnachal in the IRCTC website as also in the Indian Railway Passenger Enquiry website. Train No. 1218 Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam is, however, correctly mentioned as ‘Ratnachal’ in both IRCTC and Indian Railway websites, says Duvvada Railway User’s Association secretary K. Eswar, who tweeted the same to the railway authorities in March this year. “When there was no response, Mr. Eswar again tweeted to the Divisional Railway Manager of Waltair, and the General Manager of East Coast Railway but there was no action to this day,” he says.
“Visakhapatnam is the ‘cash cow’ for ECoR, but the authorities concerned do not bother to take action even on simple things, which do not cost them anything. It is high time a new zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam is declared,” opines Mr. Eswar.
B. Madhu Gopal
