Sankranti Rush: Trains between Telugu states running full
Hyderabad: Those planning to travel from the city to Andhra Pradesh for Sankranti will have to hurry up to book their tickets. Trains heading towards the neighbouring State are already full, with the length of waiting lists getting longer with each passing day.
Passengers trying to buy tickets through the IRCTC website were unable to book tickets in sleeper and second class with their names going into waiting lists. The chances of seat confirmation are bleak unless the railways add extra coaches, many opined.
The South Central Railway (SCR) is running fewer special trains due to the Covid-19 pandemic to destinations like Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, and Nellore. Even these trains are already booked.
“To clear the festive rush, SCR is operating 109 regular trains and 35 special trains daily in January. Based on the demand, we will extend the operation of special trains,” a senior railway official said.
According to IRCTC, for major trains like Godavari Express and Gautami Express from the city towards coastal Andhra, tickets were sold off as many from the city were planning to travel to their hometowns for the festival.
The demand for sleeper class tickets in Godavari Express is such that the general waiting list is between 250 and 350 during January 8 and 12. The situation is no different in trains like the Gautami Express, Simhapuri Express, and Machilipatnam Express.
On the other hand, this is good news for the railways, which was seeing less occupancy on account of the pandemic. Sankranthi has triggered a comeback of sorts to days when tickets are sold out like hotcakes.
TSRTC to operate special buses
The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), to clear the festive rush from the twin cities, will operate 4,981 special buses between January 8 and 14. Out of these, 3,380 buses will be to different parts of Telangana while 1,600 buses will ply to Andhra Pradesh from various bus stations in the city. TSRTC is ready to operate additional buses to Vijayawada, Vizianagaram, Tenali, Guntur, Gudivada, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Eluru, Srikakulam, Kurnool, and other parts of Andhra Pradesh.
According to officials, the special buses will operate from MGBS, JBS, CBS, KPHB, Lingampally, Miyapur Crossroads, Ameerpet, Uppal crossroads, and LB Nagar. According to TSRTC officials, special facilities have been set up at these points to monitor the operation of buses and about 200 officers and employees will be deployed to ensure smooth operations.
Vara Prasad, TSRTC Regional Manager (Rangareddy) appealed to passengers to book tickets in advance and travel comfortably to avoid last-minute rush. “We request passengers to book their tickets in advance from city bus stations and authorised booking agents and also through www.tsrtconline.in,” he said. On the other hand, commuters heading towards Vijayawada are being forced to shell out exorbitant fares in private buses with most operators hiking fares from the usual Rs 800-Rs 1,000 to a Sankranthi special price of Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000.
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