Bus and railway stations brim with Sankranti rush

Hyderabad: With just a few days left for Sankranti, a huge rush is being witnessed in bus stations and railway stations in the city. With almost all the buses and trains plying full and due to this passengers are facing many problems in booking tickets from Secunderabad to various parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Taking the advantage of situation several private bus operators have doubled from the usual price. The ticket fares in the buses are skyrocketing, and the private buses are charging double prices from the usual prices, as usual, the price is Rs 600-Rs 800 and now it has risen up to Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 and maybe in the coming days of Sankranti period the private buses rates will be more increased. In the various online booking platforms charges for a particular destination vary from one travel agency to another for instance, from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam it is charging Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 which is double from the usual price.

“We had to book tickets from a private bus agency by paying double fare, as no tickets were available on TSRTC buses from Secunderabad – Vijayawada,” said Sai Teja IT employee.

“Despite railways claiming to control the rush, special trains are running, but almost all 10 trains operating via Vijayawada all the seats are booked on January 11 and January 12. Without having any option left we are planning to book a ticket in Tatkal,” said Ravi Reddy, a private school teacher, who plans to visit his hometown Vijayawada.

Meanwhile, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is plying 4,484 to the neighboring State Andhra Pradesh without transacting any charges. Special buses are running in high demand in areas of Hyderabad such as MGBS, JBS, Uppal Cross Roads, Aranmghar, LB Nagar Cross Roads, KPHB, Bowenpally, and Gachibowli areas.

“For the past one week, we are witnessing a huge rush, also the number of trains plying in the SCR zone has increased, so from January 1, SCR has been operating 121 trips of special train services, which will be operated not only between the two Telugu states but also towards other popular destinations. These train services have varied coach compositions including both Reserved Coaches and Unreserved coaches catering to all segments of passengers and we are expecting a more rush in January12,13,14, so as per demand more special trains would be added,” said a senior officer of SCR.