East Coast Railway (ECoR) has sent a proposal to the South Central Railway (SCR) for augmentation of additional AC coaches by train No. 22708/08 (Visakhapatnam-Tirupati-Visakhapatnam) Double Decker express.
In a letter to the Chief Traffic Planning Manager of SCR the Chief Commercial Manager of ECoR noted that 22707/08, which is owned by SCR, is running during night time with occupancy of 122.24% from Visakhapatnam, and 114.25% from Tirupati. The train is departing from Visakhapatnam at 11 p.m. and reaching Tirupati at 12.30 p.m. In the return direction, it is leaving Tirupati at 9.50 p.m. and arriving in Visakhapatnam at 10.40 a.m.
Presently, only two trains 18521/22 Tirumala daily express and 22707/08 Tri-Weekly Double Decker express are running directly from Visakhapatnam to Tirupati. Most of the passengers are travelling to Tirupati for darshan of Lord Balaji. The composition of 22707/08 is 10 coaches, including two LWLRRM (Luggage, Generator and Brake Van) coaches and eight LWSCZDAC (Chair Car) coaches. The daily average number of passengers boarding this train is 1,170 from Visakhapatnam, and 1,096 from Tirupati for the period April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025.
Acting on a letter written by ZRUCC Member K. Eswar, the ECoR official wrote to the SCR CPTM that passengers like senior citizens, Divyangjan, patients, pregnant women and families with children are utilising this train. They are facing lot of difficulties due to lack of AC Sleeper coaches. As this train is running during night time, passengers expect facilities that allow them to rest properly. The existing composition of Double Decker train does not meet passenger needs, resulting in discomfort to them. The ECoR CCM proposed augmentation of AC coaches, i.e., 2 A, 3 A and 3 E class coaches either temporarily or permanently on train no. 22707/08 Tri-Weekly Double Decker Express.
Published – June 13, 2025 05:10 pm IST