Activists of CPI (M) held a demonstration in front of Berhampur railway station in Odisha on Saturday demanding restoration of past timing of DMU trains and other long standing demands.
Leaders of several trade unions also took part in this demonstration. Timing of Palasa-Cuttack DMU (train no. 78502) has been changed since Oct 1, 2015, due to which it is leaving Berhampur at 3.45 am. Ironically, this train has a long halt at Balugaon due to which it reaches its destination Cuttack at 10.45 am. This DMU was a major connecting link for inhabitants of Berhampur to reach Bhubaneswar or Cuttack. Due to changed timing, Berhampur passengers are unable to avail service of this DMU. The demonstrators wanted its timing to be changed so that it would serve the commuters. Apart from it they demanded rail-bus service between Berhampur, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack throughout the day.
They also urged railway authorities to expedite establishment of proposed rail-coach factory at Sitalapalli near Berhampur. As rail budget is round the corner, long standing demands related to trains for Berhampur were also taken up by the demonstrators, like making Puri-Ahmedabad Express and Visakhapatnam-Amritsar Hirakud Express daily, new express train between Gunupur and Puri. Inclusion of more general compartments in Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Konark Express and extension of Bhubaneswar-Rourkela Rajarani express to Berhampur.
