Out of the 12 pairs of express trains that are to skip Visakhapatnam Junction, only three will be provided a halt in Duvvada, say ECoR authorities. File
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK
After dodging the issue of re-routing the long-distance trains that are bypassing Visakhapatnam Junction for a decade, first on the pretext of being a “bulb line” and later by saying that “engine reversal time” is being effectively used, the railway officials now say that “bypassing is a better option!”
On September 9, 2024, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) authorities at the headquarters in Bhubaneswar had written to the Principal Executive Director (Coaching), Railway Board, putting forth a proposal for re-routing 12 pairs of express trains via Kottavalasa – Simhachalam North – Duvvada (bypassing Visakhapatnam Junction) with additional stoppages at Duvvada and Pendurti stations.
It was stating that the Waltair Division had made the proposal, which was raised at the Indian Railway Time Table Committee-2024 meeting held in Jaipur from April 10 to 12.
It was mentioned in the letter that out of the 12 pairs of express trains, only three would be provided a halt in Duvvada, while the remaining would not have a stoppage there.
Reasons cited
The advantages cited for bypassing Visakhapatnam Junction are as follows: power reversal (engine reversal) of trains can be avoided, Visakhapatnam Yard will be decongested and yard shunting avoided, vacant path can be utilised for planning new originating / terminating trains from Visakhapatnam, and vacant path and vacant platforms in Visakhapatnam can be utilised for the proposed new TOD (Trains On Demand) special trains.
Quite a few express trains skip the main station in Chennai and Howrah, and originate at the satellite stations, it is said.
“But those two cities have very good local trains and Metro Rail connectivity. There are no local trains from Duvvada, Kottavalasa and Pendurti to Visakhapatnam main station,” argue rail users.
Further, these three satellite stations of Visakhapatnam Junction do not have safe public transport facilities for the passengers arriving by late night trains, they assert.
Bypassing Visakhapatnam does not result in any big saving in time for the through trains. This is because many trains that bypass Visakhapatnam have to stop at Vizianagaram and Duvvada. “The bypass route has heavy movement of goods trains, and it can affect the punctuality of passenger trains,” the rail users reason.
A train coming to Visakhapatnam requires about 20 minutes stoppage for engine reversal as its is a terminal station like Chennai and Kolkata.
The railway officials had themselves said in the past that the 20 minutes was being effectively used for watering, cleaning the washrooms and providing essential services on the long-distance trains.
Early operationalisation of the South Coast Railway (SCoR) is only solution to end the woes of the Waltair Division, opine the rail users.
Published – February 20, 2025 08:02 pm IST
