Fri Mar 28 05:27:09 UTC 2025: ## SCR Cancels Ugadi Festival Special Train Despite Passenger Rush
**Visakhapatnam, March 28, 2025** – The South Central Railway (SCR) has canceled a special train intended to alleviate passenger congestion during the Ugadi festival, sparking outrage among rail activists. The East Coast Railway (ECoR) had planned to operate the Vizag-Cherlapalli-Vizag special train (08579/80) for two trips. However, the SCR issued a late-night order cancelling the service citing a “severe shortage of crew” impacting freight train operations and scheduled maintenance work (NI works).
The SCR’s decision to cancel the “Trains on Demand” (TOD) special has drawn heavy criticism on social media. Activists like Rajasekhar Chv accused the railway ministry of negligence, highlighting the irony of a nation of 1.4 billion people facing crew shortages. Another activist, Raghavamsi_2002, criticized the cancellation as a neglect of Telugu people and the city of Visakhapatnam, questioning why passengers were being forced to rely on private buses. The activist appealed to the Railway Minister, Chief Minister, and Visakhapatnam MP to intervene and reinstate the special train service.
First Piper 