Notwithstanding the high special fare, the 08543 Visakhapatnam – SMVT Bengaluru special express is once again receiving overwhelming response from passengers of Visakhapatnam region.
This train has Wait List (WL) of 29, 56 and 39 on August 7, 14 and 21 respectively in 3 AC. Only one berth is available for the August 28 and while it is RAC 11 on September 4 and 79 berths are available for September 24 in 3 AC on August 7
There is no vacancy in sleeper class with WL of 90, 75 and 48 on August 7, 14 and 21 respectively and RAC of 48, 97 and 5 on August 28, September 4 and 11. There is no vacancy in 2 AC also till September 11. While the WL was 20 on August 7, it is 23, 17 and 1 on August 14, 21 and 28 respectively and RAC 5 and RAC 2 on September 4 and 11. The status before chart preparation was WL 86 in 3 A, WL 245 in Sleeper and WL 31 in 2 A.
Rail users, while thanking Divisional Railway Manager Anup Satpathy for adding an extra coach to meet the demand, sought that the train should be operated at least twice a week with one trip starting from SMTV Bengaluru on Friday evening to reach Visakhapatnam by Saturday morning. They have also demanded more extra coaches to meet the demand.
This will be useful to thousands of IT professionals and others from Visakhaptnam, who are employed in Bengaluru, who travel frequently during weekends. They also sought regularisation of this train as it already had a successful run with over 140% occupancy for two consecutive financial years.
Union Minister of Culture and Tourism G. Kishan Reddy wrote to his counterpart in the Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, about six months ago, seeking a daily train to Bengaluru.
Mr. Kishan Reddy had also reminded the Railway Minister as to how the extension of the Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam daily Prasanthi express to Bhubaneswar, had deprived the people of the largest city in Andhra Pradesh of a dedicated train to the Silicon Valley of India. He also reminded the Railway Minister that Visakhapatnam was a major tourist destination apart from being an IT hub.
Rajya Sabha Member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao has also written to the Railway Minister in this regard and Visakhapatnam MP M.V.V. Satyanarayana had also sought a regular direct train to Bengaluru last year.
