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Call to extend Guwahati-Dibrugarh Shatabdi Express upto Tinsukia

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 20 - Expressing concern that the Guwahati-Dibrugarh Shatabdi Express may be discontinued due to lack of patronisation from commuters, the Assam Rail Passengers� Association (ARPA) has called for extension of services of the train upto Tinsukia.

Dipankar Sharma, secretary of ARPA, said that the rake of the Guwahati-Dibrugarh Up Shatabdi should be bifurcated at Simaluguri with half of the coaches heading towards Tinsukia, Duliajan and Margherita, while the remaining portion can continue to travel to Dibrugarh via Moran as per the existing route.

�Similarly, the Down train, with its bifurcated rake can be joined at Simaluguri and continue upto Guwahati. That will ensure that people of Tinsukia district are not deprived of the services of Shatabdi, which has been a major compliant of the commuters of the district,� he said.

Sharma also called upon the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to give better publicity regarding the Shatabdi Express, including letting the people know through media the fare of the service.

�We have come to know that passengers� response so far has not been to the extent that was expected. Across the country, there are numerous examples where services of Shatabdi trains have been discontinued due to lack of patronisation by the commuters. This should not be allowed to happen with regard to the Guwahati-Dibrugarh Shatabdi Express,� said the ARPA secretary.

He added that the same rake which arrives in Guwahati from Dibrugarh is then used as the rake for the Guwahati-Naharlagun Shatabdi.

�Passenger response to the Guwahati-Naharlagun Shatabdi has so far been even less than that of the Guwahati-Dibrugarh Shatabdi Express. So it will be sensible if NFR bifurcate the rake of the train at Harmuti, with one half of the coaches continuing to Naharlagun and the other going to Murkongselek. This will also mean that commuters from Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts wanting to travel to Guwahati will benefit,� Sharma said.

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