Rail Jan Samvaad Receives 350 Grievances, Suggestions
They mainly related to train stoppages, sanitation, drinking water, a foot over bridge at Padugupadu: Reports
VIJAYAWADA: Rail Jan Samvaad 2026, held at more than 100 stations in the Vijayawada division of South Coast Railway (SCoR) on Thursday, received over 350 suggestions and grievances from passengers and other stakeholders on train services, sanitation, safety, and passenger amenities.
More than 3,000 people participated in the initiative, organised under Special Campaign 6.0 to improve railway services through public feedback.
Bitragunta, Nidubrolu, Nuzvid, and Singarayakonda received a large number of suggestions.
Divisional railway manager (DRM) Mohit Sonakiya interacted with around 120 participants at Vijayawada, where passengers sought better cleaning of toilets in sleeper-class coaches. Additional DRM (Infrastructure) P.E. Edwin met around 90 participants at Nellore, while Additional DRM (Operations) Srinivasa Rao Konda interacted with around 70 people at Rajahmundry.
Passengers sought additional stoppages for Tirumala, Vande Bharat, Simhapuri, and Seshadri Express trains, more MEMU halts, additional general coaches, and better connectivity between Narasapur, Rajamahendravaram, Visakhapatnam and Guntur.
Sanitation, drinking water, and infrastructure turned out to be the other major concerns. Suggestions included improved toilets, drinking water facilities at several stations, lifts, escalators, a foot over bridge at Padugupadu, better waiting halls, shelters, seating, parking, and signage.
Passengers sought CCTV cameras at Nidadavolu, Samalkot, and Vedayapalem, a stronger Railway Protection Force presence at Bhimavaram Town and Akividu, and platform dividers at Bapatla.
Ticketing-related concerns included delayed refunds, difficulties with RailOne app, bandwidth issues during Tatkal bookings, and longer reservation counter hours. Many passengers sought confirmed lower berths for senior citizens.
Other requests included a parcel quota at Eluru for fish exports and facilities for loading betel leaves at Nidubrolu.
Railway officials said the suggestions have been classified as short, medium and long-term issues and referred to the departments concerned for examination, with timelines set for monitoring their progress.
CCTV installation at Nidadavolu is under way, while a proposal for a Narasapur-Rajahmundry-Visakhapatnam train service has been referred to headquarters.
Proposals for additional trains, stoppages, and infrastructure improvements will be examined for operational feasibility, officials added.