Vizag MP Seeks Expansion Of Visakhapatnam Railway Station
Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat urges railway authorities to speed up station expansion, new lines, Vande Bharat services and passenger amenities.
Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat has urged the South Coast Railway to expedite key infrastructure projects, improve train punctuality and enhance passenger amenities across Visakhapatnam and north Andhra.
During a meeting at the SCoR headquarters in Siripuram on Friday with the railways’ general manager Sandeep Mathur, the MP raised issues including expansion of Visakhapatnam railway station, construction of additional railway lines, employee transfers, new Vande Bharat services and improved connectivity with the Amaravati–Guntur region.
Sribharat sought humanitarian consideration for railway employees posted in Rayagada division after the bifurcation of the erstwhile Waltair division, noting that many have families based in Visakhapatnam. He urged railway authorities to forward their transfer requests to East Coast Railway and the railway board wherever administratively feasible.
He sought expediting the construction of the third and fourth railway lines between Gopalapatnam and Visakhapatnam, saying the additional tracks would ease operational constraints and improve punctuality. He also requested that the expansion of Visakhapatnam station from eight to 14 platforms be accelerated.
The MP sought modernisation of signalling systems, expansion of the Gnanapuram-side coaching yard and improvements to foot-over bridges, lifts, escalators, waiting halls, parking and passenger circulation.
He urged SCoR to identify operational bottlenecks along the Visakhapatnam–Gopalapatnam–Kothavalasa corridor and implement short- and long-term measures to address them. He also sought a feasibility study for halts of Vande Bharat trains 20833 and 20708 at Duvvada, saying this would benefit passengers from Gajuwaka, Duvvada and surrounding areas.
Proposals for new Vande Bharat services connecting Visakhapatnam with Tirupati, Chennai, Secunderabad and Bengaluru were also placed before the railway authorities. Sribharat also sought a night express service between north Andhra and the Amaravati–Guntur region.
Sribharat called for regular reviews of pending projects, faster approvals and timely allocation of funds to accelerate railway development across North Andhra. He stressed the need for improved infrastructure and services to meet the growing demands of passengers and the region’s economic development.