Mon Sep 16 18:56:48 UTC 2024: ## New Vande Bharat Express Skips Key Stops, Frustrating Passengers in Telangana
**Mancherial, Telangana:** The newly launched Vande Bharat Express connecting Nagpur to Secunderabad has sparked outrage among residents of Mancherial and Kagaznagar, as the train does not stop at either station. This has left professionals, private employees, students, and businessmen from these towns deeply inconvenienced.
Despite being a major railway station with a daily footfall of 20,000 passengers and generating significant revenue for Indian Railways, Mancherial station was overlooked. It has been recognized as a crucial station under the Amrut Bharat scheme and has even received awards for sanitation excellence.
Similarly, Kagaznagar, home to a paper manufacturing plant and a vital transportation hub for residents of nearby towns, has also been bypassed. The lack of connectivity directly impacts the employees of the paper factory, who rely on trains to travel to their hometowns in various states.
The Vande Bharat Express, known for its semi-high speed, currently stops at Nagpur, Sevagram, Chandrapur, Balharshah in Maharashtra, and Ramagundam and Kazipet in Telangana before reaching Secunderabad. This lack of service has forced commuters from Mancherial and Kagaznagar to endure lengthy journeys and additional costs, with trips to Hyderabad and Nagpur taking at least 7 hours and costing Rs 500.
Locals have expressed their disappointment, arguing that halting the train at these stations would benefit the community immensely by saving both time and money. They allege that Indian Railways is discriminating against the stations despite their contribution to the railway system’s revenue.
This situation echoes a long-standing grievance, as several other express trains, including the Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Humsafar, Puri-Kazipet, Bikaner, and Sangamitra superfast expresses, also skip Mancherial station, adding to the frustration of local residents.
First Piper 