The AP state government feels that establishing a rail network connecting the three mandals that make up the new capital city with the rest of the country will boost tourism, particularly pilgrims from the Buddhist nations.
At present two mandals – Mangalagiri and Tadepalle – are covered by a rail network. But the railway line covers only the peripheral areas and do not touch Tullur mandal, where the state administrative buildings including the Raj Bhavan and the state Assembly have been proposed. The state government has now sought an exclusive railway line to Amaravati village via Tulluru. This new line can be connected to Vijayawada on one side and Sattenapalle on the other providing national connectivity to existing Amaravati village and the upcoming Amaravati city.
“The new railway line can simply be an extension of the existing Vijayawada-Guntur rail road branching off at Mangalagiri and running through Tulluru to Sattenapalle via Amaravati village. The Railways can also think of laying an exclusive railway line from Vijayawada to Amaravati along the Krishna river bund. Alternatively, a new railway bridge can be constructed across the river to provide connectivity to Amaravati from Rayanapadu (Vijayawada outskirts),” suggested Veeranjaneyulu Jasti, chairman of Amaravati Development Authority.
The state government has also sought connectivity to Amaravati with Vijayawada-Chennai rail road on one hand and Hyderabad-Guntur line on the other. It has also urged the Centre to consider the feasibility of extending the proposed railway line from Amaravati to the Guntur-Nandyal line for easy access to Rayalaseema.
Earlier this week, chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao directed CRDA principal secretary Ajay Jain to focus on rail connectivity to Amaravati. Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu too, had sought the South Central Railway to speed up the work on the proposal and provide rail connectivity to Amaravati village and city.
