A Vande Bharat train will be started from Visakhapatnam in the near future. The train is likely to be operated either to Secunderabad or Bhubaneswar, Divisional Railway Manager Anup Satpathy told media persons, who met him on Friday evening.
The Vande Bharat trains have large glass windows and are designed to run at a high speed. They have state-of-the-art facilities and are allotted on the basis of demand. The date of introduction and the destination from Visakhapatnam Junction were yet to be finalised.
Mr. Satpathy said that 23 of the 50 rakes of trains, originating from Visakhapatnam, which was nearly 50% have been provided with the state-of-the-art LHB rakes. The Visakhapatnam-LTT (Mumbai) weekly via Raipur express, would soon be converted into LHB rake. The bed linen of all originating trains would be replaced with new linen very soon.
The Varanasi – Sambalpur express would soon be extended to Visakhapatnam to provide direct connectivity to Varanasi. The demand for a direct train to Varanasi has been pending for the past several years. “The Visakhapatnam-SMVB express will be continued for some more time. I am trying for a regular train from Visakhapatnam to SMVB (Bengaluru),” he said in response to a query.
The tender for the Redevelopment of Visakhapatnam Railway Station has been finalised and the work would be completed in 36 months. The work would be supervised by Waltair Division. A provision would be made for construction of two additional platforms, on the Gnanapuram-side of Visakhapatnam Railway Station, based on the need in future, he said.
