Members of the Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) on Saturday (September 30) recommended introducing the Vande Bharat Express service from Vijayawada to Bengaluru via Tirupati. They were in a meeting with Divisional Railway Manager (DRM-Vijayawada) Narendra A. Patil.
While briefing him on suggestions to improve the division, Chambers president Potluri Bhaskar Rao, general secretary B. Raja Sekhar and others said the introduction of Visakhapatnam–Vijayawada Vande Bharat Express brought down the travel time drastically and many air and road travellers now preferred trains. They requested him to introduce a Vande Bharat Express in the opposite direction as well, one that will start from Vijayawada in the morning.
The Chambers requested the Railways to reduce the running time of the train between these two cities from the current 6 hours and 40 minutes to 4 hours and 30 minutes. As a measure to decongest Vijayawada railway station, the Chambers requested the DRM to increase the number of platforms and develop Gunadala and Rayanapadu as satellite stations.
