A train to Varanasi has been a long-pending demand of people of North Andhra region. Though the Railway Board announced extension of Varanasi-Sambalpur express to Visakhapatnam, it did not happen. The Visakhapatnam-Varanasi special had its last run towards the end of last month but was not extended.
Rail users thought that consequent to the announcement by the Railway Board towards the end of September, this year, the Varanasi- Sambalpur express, would be extended and it would run from Visakhapatnam with effect from Dasara. But, Deepavali is a couple of days away and there are no indications in sight.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced extension of the Sambalpur – Varanasi train to Visakhapatnam saying that it would provide connectivity to the people of western Odisha, who depend on Visakhapatnam city for their educational and medical needs. It would also meet the long-pending demand of people of North Andhra for a direct train to Varanasi, he said.
Though the people of North Andhra had been demanding introduction of a new direct train to Varanasi, they were happy with the announcement as the extension would serve the purpose. It’s learnt that an additional rake allotted by the Railway Board for operation of the train is in Visakhapatnam, but the proposal is being kept in cold storage.
It’s also learnt that there is a demand for extension of the Nanded-Visakhapatnam express to Sambalpur, in reciprocation for extension of Varanasi – Sambalpur express to Visakhapatnam. Rail users of north Andhra recall that the extension of the popular originating trains like Prasanthi and Visakha express trains from Visakhapatnam to Bhubaneswar, without reciprocation from the other side had led to agitations and announcement of SCoR.
The Railway Board had agreed to extend the Varanasi-Sambalpur express to Visakhapatnam at the Indian Railway Time Table Committee (IRTTC) meeting in 2017 but the plan failed to materialise.
About a year ago, Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao has written to Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw seeking early sanction of the Varanasi train. He also brought to the notice the Railway Minister the strong feeling of alienation among people of Visakhapatnam region that their railway needs were being given a short shrift.
Union Minister of Culture and Tourism G. Kishan Reddy had also drawn the attention of Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw on the injustice being done to Visakhapatnam in the operation of new trains and the injustice done to the city through the extension of popular trains from Visakhapatnam to Bhubaneswar in the past.
“We are planning the maintenance and other services for the Varanasi train, and we expect to run the train in a couple of weeks,” Divisional Railway Manager Saurabh Prasad said when asked about the delay on Friday evening.
