Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy has drawn the attention of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on the need for starting a daily train from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru via Vijayawada and Tirupati.
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In a letter to the Railway Minister, Mr. Kishan Reddy noted that Visakhapatnam, the largest city in Andhra Pradesh, is also a major tourist destination with important cultural sites and places of heritage. The city is also an important IT hub with many people travelling between the two cities. He recalled that Prasanthi Express, which originated from Visakhaptanam, was extended to Bhubaneswar, which resulted in the curtailment of its allocated reservation quota.
The originating station and the stations within the sub-group are allocated approximately 80% of the reserved seats as per the reservation policy. With the extension of the train to Bhubaneswar, residents of Visakhapatnam, who would be booking from Visakhapatnam, would have reduced access to reserved seats, forcing them to depend on other trains passing through Visakhapatnam, with lesser probability of securing reservation.
Mr. Kishan Reddy said that as the commuters include a large number of IT employees, tourists and business travellers, there is a need to connect the two cities, in order to cater to the growing demand. He sought the personal intervention of the Railway Minister in this regard.