Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, May 21, 2003 |
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Logistics
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Railways A train of woes for Kakinada people Ch.R.S. Sarma
A TALE OF TWO TRAINS: As the signboard on the compartment indicates, the same rake is used for the Seshadri Express (Kakinada-Tirupati) and the Gowthami Express (Kakinada-Secunderabad).
KAKINADA, May 20 THE South Central Railway authorities introduced a new daily express train (Seshadri Express) from Kakinada to Tirupati late last year and the Minister of State for Railways, Mr B. Dattatreya, himself flagged it off, describing it as a great gift to the people of Kakinada. In fact, the Minister had earlier in the year announced that Seshadri Express, a full-fledged train from Kakinada to Tirupati, would be introduced in the place of the link train, Tirumala Express. Earlier, the Tirupati-bound bogies from Kakinada were joining Tirumala Express coming from Visakhapatnam at Samalkot junction. After the introduction of Seshadri, the Tirumala Express was completely delinked from Kakinada and it now runs from Vizag to Tirupati, with the Tirupati-bound bogies joining it at Vijayawada. At the inaugural, the Minister patted himself on the back for having fulfilled the promise he had made to the people of Kakinada, but the joy of local people was short-lived. Not only were the timings of the train inconvenient, but no separate rake had been allotted to it. It was linked to another long-distance train originating from here, the Kakinada-Secunderabad Gowtami Express, and whenever Seshadri got delayed, the Gowthami Express was held up in Kakinada for hours, causing untold hardship to passengers. "This perhaps is the only instance where the same rake is being used for running two long-distance trains and it exemplifies the attitude of the railway authorities to this town," complains Mr S.S. Krishnaji, the founder and president of the East Godavari and Andhra Pradesh Passengers' Association. "In the name of introducing a new train and a new amenity for local passengers, the authorities have completely messed up the schedule of trains and Gowthami has become the casualty in the bargain. Many passengers are now preferring to travel by Godavari Express (Vizag-Hyderabad) by boarding the train at Samalkot. This is Mr Dattatreya's gift to Kakinada." Mr Krishnaji urged the Minister to take up the problem immediately and see to it that the two trains (Seshadri and Gowthami) were delinked by allotting a separate rake for the new train. "Otherwise, the introduction of Seshadri would be a cruel joke perpetrated on the people here. Also, after the allotment of the separate rake, the timings should be changed to suit the convenience of Tirupati-bound passengers and pilgrims from here," he said. Several other local organisations have appealed to the Railways to solve the problem immediately as more than six months have elapsed since the introduction of Seshadri.
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