The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : 360 special trains for Pushkaram

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 14, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

360 special trains for Pushkaram

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, AUG. 13. The South Central Railway (SCR) will run 360 trains for the convenience of pilgrims for the Krishna Pushkaram between August 28 and September 8. Also, 270 extra coaches will be attached to long-distance trains passing through Vijayawada.

The Krishna Pushkaram Specials will run between Vijayawada and seven other places. The break-up includes 72 to and from Ongole and Rajahmundry, 96 for Narsapur, 24 each for Khammam, Machilipatnam and Eluru and 48 between Guntur and Vijayawada. The SCR ran over 700 specials and transported an estimated 20 lakh passengers for the Godavari Pushkaram while for the last Krishna Pushkaram in 1992, 100 trains ferried 6.86 passengers, said the General Manager, SCR, T. Stanley Babu, on Friday.

Passenger amenities

A total of Rs. 12 crores was being spent on improving passenger amenities. This includes the permanent developmental works and Rs. 3 crores for temporary amenities like rest rooms/sheds, toilets, enquiry/booking counters, first-aid centres, cloak rooms and catering stalls. The permanent works include a new passenger terminal and 3 platforms and shelters at Tarapet, near Kaleswara Rao Market in Vijayawada. At several places, including Guntur, new passenger entry points and more circulating area were being created, apart from increasing the height of platforms.

About 90 per cent of traffic was expected around Vijayawada and the rest spread out between Guntur towards the Amaravathi side, Krishna Canal on the other side of the river, Gadwal and a Krishna station, both in Mahbubnagar district. Amenities include 36 booking and 12 enquiry counters, 8 sheds spanning a total of 4,225 square metres, a 100 toilets, 6 first-aid centres, 4 cloakrooms and 12 catering stalls at Vijayawada, Krishna Canal, Guntur, Gadwal and Krishna Stations.

Safety and security

The concentration of the SCR was on improving passenger amenities, he said, adding that from Rs. 6 to 7 crores, the expenditure on this head of account, grew to Rs. 15.5 crores last year. This year, it would be anywhere between Rs. 35 to 40 crores, he said.

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