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Ch.R.S Sarma

The Visakhapatnam-Waltair rail division is the mainstay of the East Coast Railway, with its headquarters at Bhubaneswar, as it grosses the maximum freight and passenger earnings in the zone. But there is a great deal of resentment against the railways among train passengers in Visakhapatnam city, in particular, and the north-coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, in general, for its neglect of the money-spinning division.

Several prominent citizens and organisations in Visakhapatnam have, of late, been demanding a separate rail zone, with Vizag as the headquarters. A separate zone seems a remote possibility at the moment, but the demand brings to the fore the discontent of rail passengers in the region.

Mr C.S Rao, a former IAS official and the convener of Praja Spandana, a public interest forum, says: "The division earned Rs 2,124 crore in freight and Rs 163 crore in passenger earnings during 2006-2007; yet the amenities at the Visakhapatnam railway station, or at Vizianagaram or Srikakulam, are woefully inadequate. In fact, many trains originating from Visakhapatnam, such as the Prasanthi Express and Visakha Express, are being extended to Bhubaneswar, but not the other way round. There is no doubt the passengers in the region are getting a raw deal. Visakhapatnam contributes the lion's share of the revenue, but is not getting its due."

According to Mr G.M. Rama Rao, the former general manager of the Andhra Petrochemicals and a corporate consultant: "The importance of Visakhapatnam seems to have been lost on the railway authorities and the politicians from the region are in deep slumber. Vizag is being treated as an obscure wayside station. Successive railway ministers from Mr Nitish Kumar have done gross injustice to the city. There is not even a super-fast train to the national capital from Vizag, which admittedly is the fastest growing city on the east coast."

As Vizag is emerging as a major industrial centre and IT centre, boasting of one of the country's major ports and a major steel plant besides an oil refinery, he argues, the Union Railway ministry can no longer continue give it the same old treatment. "We are not being parochial in pleading for more passenger amenities and better infrastructure at Vizag and the issue should not be viewed in the Bhubaneswar-versus-Vizag perspective. Bhubaneswar is the zonal headquarters and the capital of Orissa, but Vizag is the more important city of the two."

Refusing to be drawn into the controversy, Mr Indra Ghosh, the divisional railway manager, however, says that all efforts are being made to improve the amenities at the Vizag railway station. "Covering of all the platforms, construction of two more island platforms, water purifiers on the platforms, and an additional reservation counter are the immediate steps we are taking. Construction of a new building for the reservation complex, additional quarters for the staff and the construction of a third foot overbridge are also being undertaken. At our level, we are doing everything possible to improve the amenities at Vizag station and other stations in the division."

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