“Passengers travelling from January 1 are advised to check the actual train timings before the commencement of their journey”: SCR chief public relations officer A. Sridhar
HYDERABAD: The South-Central Railway (SCR) will bring a revised timetable into force from January 1, introducing new trains, extending existing services, changing days of operation, adding halts, diverting select trains and revising departure timings across its network.
“Passengers travelling from January 1 are advised to check the actual train timings before the commencement of their journey,” SCR chief public relations officer A. Sridhar said, noting that updated details will be available on IRCTC and the National Train Enquiry System.
The SCR has introduced six new express trains of its own, including weekly Tirupati-Chikmagalur and Tirupati-Shirdi Sai Nagar services and daily Kacheguda-Bhagat Ki Kothi trains.
Other railway zones have added new express and Amrit Bharat services passing through the SCR network including Muzaffarpur-Charlapalli and Erode-Jogbani trains.
Several trains have been extended to new destinations. The Secunderabad-Bhubaneswar Visaka Express will now run up to Bhubaneswar New, the Jalna-Mumbai CST Vande Bharat Express has been extended to Nanded, and Kacheguda-Mysore services will run up to Ashokapuram. Passenger trains such as Renigunta-Gudur have been extended to Nellore, while Bengaluru-Dharmavaram services now go up to Anantapur.
The new schedule changes days of service for multiple SCR-owned trains, including Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam and several Kacheguda, Chengalpattu, Puducherry and Kakinada Port routes. Two trains operated by other railways, Chennai Central-Ahmedabad and Chennai Central-Ekta Nagar, have also seen revised operating days.
Two Mail and Express services between Secunderabad and Thiruvananthapuram have been converted into superfast trains with new numbers and reduced travel time. Several trains have been renumbered following operational changes.
SCR has introduced experimental and permanent halts at a large number of stations across Guntakal, Secunderabad and Vijayawada divisions, affecting express, intercity and superfast services. The time table also provides for diversion of several trains away from Secunderabad via Charlapalli, Moula Ali, Dayanand Nagar and Bolarum, leading to removal of certain Secunderabad stoppages.
Train-on-Demand services have been listed in the new schedule, connecting Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Kacheguda with destinations such as Gorakhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner and Agartala, along with similar services operated by other railways.
Departure timings at originating stations have been revised for 25 trains which cover routes from Vijayawada, Narasapur, Tirupati, Guntur, Kacheguda and Secunderabad.
