East Coast Railway (ECoR) officials are said to be considering utilisation of the double-decker rake to reduce possible delay in launching of the proposed Shatabdi Express from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had assured Minister for Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju that Shatabdi Express would be launched at the earliest when the latter met him in New Delhi on October 8. Mr. Prabhu had directed Member (Traffic) of the Railway Board to start the train immediately as it would provide connectivity from North Andhra to the new capital of the State.
When Mr. Ashok Gajapathi Raju visited Bhubaneswar on October 9, ECoR General Manager, while acknowledging the receipt of communication from the Railway Ministry, told him that the possibility of introducing the double-decker rake to run the Shatabdi Express was also under consideration.
Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu had written to the Railway Minister on August 6 seeking introduction of the double-decker between Visakhapatnam and Tirupati via Vijayawada in view of the high demand on the route. He received a reply two weeks later that the mater was “being examined.”
Interestingly, the ECoR General Manager had told Mr. Haribabu more than a month ago that they had received a communication from the Railway Minister asking them to consider the feasibility of introduction of the double-decker between Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.
It is aimed at avoiding possible delay in the launch of the Shatabdi Express from Visakhapatnam
