A fully unreserved superfast bi-weekly express for the common man between Santragachhi (near Howrah) and Chennai Central — Jan Sadharan Express 02807/08 — makes a halt in the city though it has not been scheduled in the official time-table.
As a result, passengers, especially those depending on the Net for information, are unaware of this!
The fortunate few are those who went to the station and found the train.
Train No. 2808 Chennai Central – Santragachhi leaves Chennai on Wednesdays and Saturdays from April 1 to June 27. Ironically, the railway website — National Train Enquiry System (NTES), shows that the train arrives at Samalkot junction at 17.55 and leaves at 17.57 to reach Vizianagaram at 21.55 and leave at 22.00.
In the return direction, Train No. 2807 Santragachhi – Chennai Central leaves Santragachhi on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Both the trains reach Visakhapatnam at convenient timings.
A frequent traveller called up The Hindu on Monday and wondered as to how such an important train could skip Visakhapatnam district.
Responding to the issue, an official said that the train was coming to Visakhapatnam railway station. He said that it not being on the official schedule “could be a technical mistake.”
Confusion in timings
While the railway press release also does not show Visakhapatnam in the stoppages, only a travel website shows Visakhapatnam on the list of stoppages for Train No. 02808. However, the website shows the arrival time at Samalkot junction as 17.22 and departure at 17.23 and arrival at Visakhapatnam as 20.35 and departure at 20.55, which is at variance from the official time-table, but appears to be the actual running time of the train. The arrival at Vizianagaram junction is shown as 21.55 and departure as 10 p.m.
“It could have been an inadvertent error. It is a grave mistake,” opined ECoR Shramik Union president Ch. Gandhi.
It has not been scheduled in the official time-table, possibly due to a technical mistake, says an official
