Khammam MPs urge SCR to rename Bhadrachalam Road station as Kothagudem rly station

Khammam MPs have urged South Central Railways to rename Bhadrachalam Road railway station at Kothagudem as Kothagudem railway station, citing its status as district headquarters. They also sought new train services and a railway line to Bhadrachalam.

Kothagudem: MPs from Khammam have urged the South Central Railways (SCR) authorities to rename existing ‘Bhadrachalam Road railway station’ situated at Kothagudem town, the district headquarters, renamed as ‘Kothagudem railway station’.

A request has been made to the SCR general manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava at a high-level review meeting held on Thursday at Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad. BRS Parliamentary Party leader Vaddiraju Ravichandra and Khammam MP R Raghuram Reddy attended the meeting.

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The MP Raghuram Reddy stated that it would be apt to rename ‘Bhadrachalam Road’ (BDCR) railway station as Kothagudem railway station as it serves as the district headquarters of Kothagudem district that was formed from Khammam district.

Both the MPs noted that Bhadrachalam Temple town is a renowned pilgrimage site often referred to as ‘Dakshina Ayodhya’ and emphasised the need to introduce a new train, ‘Bhadradri Express,’ connecting Kothagudem to Tirupati as there is no direct rail connectivity between the two places.

Furthermore, they demanded the construction of a railway line to Bhadrachalam and proposed developing it into a railway junction connecting the states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

Raghuram Reddy told the SCR officials to focus on the process of exchanging State government land located at the Khammam railway station to facilitate the widening of the approach road to the Kothagudem railway station.

Ravichandra reiterated the demand that the Dornakal-Miryalaguda railway line project has to be executed via an alternative route, rather than passing through the fertile lands of the Khammam Urban and Palair constituencies. He also wanted Kothagudem to be developed as a railway division.

He wanted the officials to speed up modernisation works at Kothagudem, as elderly people, physically challenged; lactating women and children find it difficult to go to the 2nd platform. Lift and escalator facilities should be provided. Similarly, underpasses at Bhajan Mandir and Rajiv Park have to be constructed for the benefit of locals, he said.