RailEnquiry

Guntakal (Anantapur): With Kurnool MP Kotla Jaya Suryaprakash Reddy becoming the Minister of State for Railways, Guntakal railway division expects to be alleviated from its long suffering.The division comprises the Tirupati – a high-traffic railway station – because of the devotees visiting the temple town.Because of the neglect by railway ministers hailing for other states, the division has been crying for budgetary allocations.Guntakal division was formed over 56 years ago in Southern Railways (Madras). Later it was merged with the South-Central Railway of Secunderabad. Presently, the division is expanded with 131 railway stations in nine districts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, covering nearly 1,300-km railway line.Repeated representations for budgetary allocations for new projects for Guntakal to successive railway ministers earlier had yielded nothing. Sources said a doubling of the railway line between Guntakal and Guntur has been pending for years.There are only four trains to Tirupati – a highly popular destination – via Guntakal.Though, eight trains were earlier running in this route, it has been reduced to four because of the single line.Several stations in the Guntakal division lack basic facilities like drinking water and rest houses. What has added to the problems faced by passengers travelling in this route is the delay in the upgrade of Tirupati, Guntakal, Gooty and Anantapur railway stations.