The inspection of Lingampally and Ramachandrapuram stations by South Central Railway (SCR) General Manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava on Saturday has rekindled hope among commuters for improved MMTS suburban train services.
While the General Manager remained non-committal on increasing the number of MMTS services, he told media persons that the visit was aimed at assessing available passenger amenities, reviewing ongoing infrastructure works, and examining the feasibility of introducing additional suburban as well as long-distance train services.
The Suburban Trains Travellers Association also appealed to railway authorities to take immediate steps to strengthen MMTS train services in view of the prevailing fuel crisis and the growing demand for public transport among daily commuters.
The association said the existing suburban train schedules were not commuter-friendly due to inconvenient timings. It suggested that the frequency of MMTS services should be increased to once every 30 minutes by optimising available resources. It also proposed reducing rake composition from nine or 12 coaches to six coaches to facilitate more frequent services.
Further, the association recommended that all passenger trains be provided halts at suburban stations to enable long-distance passengers to reach their nearest destinations conveniently.
