Vijayawada: A ‘preferential treatment’ given by railway authorities to the Visakhapatnam-bound Nanded train (No. 20812) helped several passengers travelling between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam to cast their votes on Monday.
As per the schedule, the train was scheduled to reach Rayanapeta by 2.55 pm, Eluru-4.08pm, Tadepalligudem-4.48pm, Rajahmundry-5.38pm, Duvvada-8.35pm and Visakhapatnam by 9.10 pm.
However, the train was running late by more than 8 hours after a delayed start in Nanded and reached Vijayawada late by nearly 8.25 hours.
Following the media reports that the passengers travelling by train were being delayed for voting, the railway authorities decided to provide 'preferential treatment' to the train without causing a further delay. The railway authorities said that the scheduled train was delayed by several hours as it was diverted from its originating point in Amritsar due to ongoing farmers’ strike at Sambhu in the northern railway station.
However, several voters later thanked the railway authorities for helping them reach their destinations early and cast their votes.
