‘A quick and cheaper mode of transport'

The long cherished dream of people of Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali, as well as the several smaller places located in between these stations, to have faster and cheaper train connectivity materialised on Wednesday when the circular MEMU suburban train services was flagged off by Chief Minister K. Rosaiah.

The significance of this service could be gauged from the fact that the area falling in the triangle of Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali is considered a rapidly developing one in the state. The divisional railway officials said in view of the intense economic activity in this triangle, there was a large volume of commuters moving from one place to another. This was also a commitment made in the last Railway Budget, they said.

The MEMU train with eight coaches can carry 2,324 passengers (including sitting and standing) per trip and 20,916 passengers per day. These services will run six days a week, excluding Sunday.

The service is expected to be extremely useful to passengers belonging to economically weaker sections of society, such as daily wage workers, as the fares are quite low compared to those of even ordinary services of APSRTC. Passengers travelling from Vijayawada to Guntur and from Vijayawada to Tenali have to pay just Rs. 5 as against bus fare of Rs.19, while those commuting from Tenali to Guntur will have to pay only Rs.4 as against Rs.13 for bus. The journey time from Vijayawada to Guntur and from Vijayawada to Tenali by road is 80 minutes and 70 minutes, respectively, but the MEMU train will take only 60 minutes.

The train from Vijayawada to Tenali halts at Krishna Canal, Kolanukonda H, Peddavadlapudi, Chiluvuru, Duggirala and Kolakaluru; from Guntur to Tenali, it halts at Vejendla, Sangamjagarlamudi and Angalakuduru; and from Vijayawada to Guntur, it halts at Krishna Canal, Mangalagiri, Namburu and Pedakakani H.

Speaking at the launch, Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal said the nearly three-decade-old demand finally materialised under the active leadership of the present Chief Minister. He hoped that the Railway Ministry will speed up the laying of Kondapalli to Kothagudem lane.

South Central Railway General Manager M.S. Jayanth said the triangular area between Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali became a major centre for business, commerce and agriculture with a rapidly growing population. He promised to concentrate more on this area to improve the infrastructure.

The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa, Krishna district in-charge Minister P. Ramachandra Reddy, Animal Husbandry Minister K. Parthasarathy, Endowments Minister G. Venkata Reddy, MLC Ilapuram Venkaiah, MLAs Malladi Vishnu (Vijayawada Central), Velampalli Srinivasa Rao (Vijayawada West), Jogi Ramesh (Pedana) and Krishna ZP Chairman K. Nageswara Rao. Divisional Railway Manager Anurag, District Collector Peeyush Kumar, Joint Collector Gaurav Uppal and Municipal Commissioner G. Ravi Babu were present too.

• The MEMU train with eight coaches can carry 2,324 passengers per trip
• A three-decade-old demand materialised, says Lagadapati