Passengers unhappy with Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat train not stopping in Mancherial, Kagaznagar

The Nagpur-Secunderabad Vande Bharat train does not stop at both Mancherial and Kaghaznagar railway stations, irking professionals, private employees, students and businessmen from the two towns

Mancherial: Residents of this town expressed their dissatisfaction over the newly introduced Vande Bharat train on Nagpur-Secunderabad route not stopped at Mancherial and Kagaznagar towns. The new train service was flagged off by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

Mancherial is one of the major railway stations in South Central Railways (SCR) area which has a footfall of 20,000 passengers and fetches around Rs 5 lakh income for Indian Railways per day. It registers income of Rs 30 crore through transportation of goods per month. It was one of 500 stations selected across the country for the Amrut Bharat scheme. It bagged awards for adopting outstanding sanitation measures twice in the past.

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Similarly, Kagaznagar station is one of the oldest stations in Telangana. It provides rail connectivity to not only people of Kagaznagar, but also for residents of Asifabad and rural folks in Sirpur (T) segment. Kagaznagar which houses a paper manufacturing plant is located on the borders of Telangana and Maharashtra. Train services help employees of the paper factory to reach their natives in northern and southern states.

The semi high-speed Vande Bharat express halts at Nagpur, Sevagram, Chandrapur and Balharshah stations of Maharashtra and Ramagundam and Kazipet stations before reaching its destination Secunderabad. It does not stop at both Mancherial and Kaghaznagar railway stations, irking professionals, private employees, students and businessmen from the two towns.

Pothu Satyam, a trader from Mancherial town, opined that halting the newly introduced train service would benefit people of Mancherial district in many ways. He said it would not only save time, but also money for passengers. It takes at least seven hours to reach Hyderabad and Nagpur cities. One needs to spend Rs 500 for commuting to the capital of Telangana and Nagpur for various needs.

Originating at Nagpur at 5 am, the Vande Bharat daily express would reach Secunderabad at 12.15 pm. It arrives at Ramagundam at 9.05 am. It has two executive coaches and 18 chair-car coaches. It starts at Secunderabad at 1 pm and returns to Nagpur at 8.20 pm. It would cover a distance of 578 kilometers chugging at a speed of 130 kilometers per hour.

Incidentally, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Humsafar, Puri-Kazipet, Bikaner and Sangamitra superfast express trains are not halted in Mancherial railway stations, disappointing the passengers. People alleged that the Indian railways was discriminating against Mancherial station even as it was helping the public transporting system to earn a huge income.