PUNE: The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has refused to operate buses to and from the Hadapsar Railway Station, citing narrow approach road and encroachments along the way.
“Even a midi-bus cannot move along the narrow road. After conducting a survey of the area, we have come to the conclusion that we will not be able to ply buses to the railway station. Encroachments are also a major problem along the road. We had hoped that the rail administration would take steps in this regard, but they have not,” Dattatray Zende, traffic manager, PMPML, told TOI.
The special tri-weekly train from Hyderabad will reach Hadapsar Railway station at 10.50am on Friday. A railway official admitted that train bookings were increasing, but the development of the road was still a long-term priority.
“We have not said that the development of the road is not our priority. We want to ensure that the basic infrastructure is in place first. As and when the number of trains increases, we will develop the road. There are 10% bookings from Hyderabad and 9% from Hadapsar. Though bookings have slightly increased, they are still low,” a railway official said.
On Tuesday, the Pune rail officials had claimed that commencement of the train was a surprise. However, senior officials of the South Central Railway disagreed. “Whenever the railway board decides to start a train, the divisions concerned are taken into confidence. They are asked about the infrastructure at the stations and based on the green signal by them, the train is announced. It is never done suddenly,” the official said.
A Pune rail division official said, “The chief operating officer of the division decides the same.” Ch Rakesh, chief public relation officer, South Central Railway, said that the Central Railway officials would be in a better position to comment on the same.
Asked why the train has been allowed at the Hadapsar station despite inadequate infrastructure, Shivaji Sutar, chief public relation officer, Central Railway, said, “We are on the job.”
