Uday Express flagged off in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: Minister of state for railways Suresh C Angadi flagged off the much-awaited Utkrisht Double Decker Air Conditioned Yatri (Uday) Express here on Thursday.

Covering a distance of close to 350 km, the minister said the train brings respite to the people of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam as their long-cherished dream has been fulfilled.

After the Coimbatore-Bengaluru Uday Express, this is the second super-fast train launched in Visakhapatnam. "The train caters to one of the busiest routes and will be useful to people of Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada," the minister stated.

"According top priority to safety of the people, punctuality and cleanliness, the railways connects people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, uniting people in every nook and corner across the country.

It is one of the visions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote 'swachhta' across the nation and the railways is taking every step towards this direction. All the 13 lakh employees of the railways are playing a crucial role in development initiatives as well as maintaining the railways clean," Suresh Angadi added.

About future plans, the minister said, "The government is committed to develop the railways and tourism. In the next 10 years, Rs 50 lakh crore will be allocated for the development of railways. Shortly, five Vistadome coaches will be allotted to Visakhaptnam."

Appreciating the maintenance of Visakhapatnam railway station and the city, the minister termed the port city as the 'second swarga' (heaven) next to Arunachal Pradesh.

Terming it as a special privilege, Rajya Sabha member G V L Narasimha Rao said the Uday Express aims at connecting one of the busiest routes-Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam and the facility will cater to the ensuing Navaratri rush.

With nine coaches and two power cars, the train has limited stoppages such as Duvvada, Anakapalle, Tuni, Samarlakota, Rajamahendravaram, Tadepalligudem and Eluru.

Uday Express is operational on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. From Friday, train No: 22701 will leave Visakhapatnam at 5:45 am and reach Vijayawada at 11.15 am. In the return direction, Train No 22702 will chug off to Vijayawada at 5:30 pm and arrive at Visakhapatnam at 11 pm.

The launch was attended by MP M V V Satyanarayana, former MP K Haribabu, MLCs P V N Madhav and P Raghu Varma, MP Goddeti Madhavi, BJP leader P Vishnu Kumar Raju, divisional railway manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, among others.