The inaugural run of the much-awaited Andhra Pradesh Express from Vijayawada to New Delhi is round the corner. The superfast express has already had a successful trial run between Ongole and Vijayawada.
The authorities concerned, however, did not finalise the date for commencement of the operations as formalities related to the inaugural function are pending completion, according to official sources. The Code of Conduct that has come into force for MLC elections is said to be one of the reasons for the delay.
The superfast express will be run from Vijayawada to New Delhi, not from Visakhapatnam as demanded by some people’s representatives of the port city and officials of Vijayawada Division of the South Central Railway have received a communication to that effect from the Railway Board. An official of Vijayawada Division said that the train will have 18 coaches, two power cars and a pantry car.
“We are ready to launch the train, it’s up to the politicians to get it going”, the official said on condition of anonymity and pointed out orders were received for running the train from Vijayawada. It’s a prestigious train which will have German-made Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) air-conditioned coaches. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is expected to flag it in about a week’s time.
N. Srihari, member of Vijayawada Railway Station Users’ Consultative Committee, said passengers would have more berths available from Vijayawada, the originating station. On an average, 100 passengers travel from Vijayawada to New Delhi in AC and non-AC categories every day (railway officials put this figure in 40 to 50 range). In addition to passengers from the city, those from the neighbouring districts would also benefit from the new train.
The demand to operate the train from Visakhapatnam is not under consideration notwithstanding the fact that it will be covering more distance in A.P if it originates there, Mr. Srihari added.
