AURANGABAD: Even as the city got connected by two weekly trains as per the interim railway budget announced on Wednesday, activists have expressed their disappointment saying that long pending demands have been ignored.
The two new trains are likely to start any time before the end of the current financial year.
Besides announcing the new trains connecting Aurangabad to other parts of the country, Union railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge also announced the survey for doubling of line between Parbhani and Parli in the Marathwada region.
Of...
more... the seven trains announced for South Central Railways (SCR), two are for Nanded division including Aurangabad-Renigunta via Parbhani train and Nanded-Aurangabad via Purna and Parbhani train.
Railway authorities said that the SCR has got a sizeable share of the new express trains announced in the interim railway budget. Of the 55 new express trains, 15 will cater to SCR, a significant 28% share.
Omprakash Varma, president of Marathwada Railway Vikas Samiti, said, "There were many key demands made by the commuters from the region that have been ignored by the railway authorities. The railways have disappointed the people belonging to the region, especially from Aurangabad. Although the SCR is saying that it has got 28% share in the newly announced express trains, our question is what has Aurangabad, one of the fastest growing cities, got?"
Santosh Somani, an activist belonging to Railway Pravasi Sena, said, "Despite all the efforts made by railway activists and commuters, the region is being denied of its rightful share for the past many years. We appreciate the announcement of two new weekly trains, but many important things have been ignored."
The railway authorities also said that both the double-decker express trains announced in the budget are allocated for SCR. It is the first time that a double-decker express train has been announced for SCR. These trains will operate on Kacheguda-Tirupati and Kacheguda-Guntur routes. Besides, all three express trains for which frequency has been increased in the budget belong to the SCR. These trains are Vijayawada to Hubli express, Bidar to Yesvantpur express and Secunderabad to Hubli express, which will run daily instead of thrice a week.
Raj Somani, another activist, said, "The railway authorities are not providing us any of the important trains that we have been demanding for many years. Many trains that are season-specific should be regularised."
Besides, provision for surveys to double two rail sections on the SCR — Latur Road to Kurduwadi and Parbhani to Parli — has been made in the budget.