Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh parliamentarians sought better connectivity between Rayalaseema districts and the new capital around Vijayawada in their meeting with the South Central Railways (SCR) General Manager.

SCR General Manager P K Srivastava held an interactive meeting with 18 MPs who put forth their views and demands, which would be forwarded to the Railway Board ahead of 2015-16 rail budget.

Rayalaseema MP J C Diwakar Reddy said that after creation of Vijayawada region as the new capital, passengers from Rayalaseema will face difficulty in travelling to Vijayawada with existing rail network and hence a better connectivity between the two regions is required. MPs from Guntur and Vijayawada said more passenger amenities should be made available at all railway stations in the new capital region.

Some of the MPs sought attention on doubling and electrification of the existing railway line between Guntur and Guntakal and also demanded to increase the frequency of Machilipatnam-Yaswantapur express from current three days to seven.

They also demanded new trains between destinations Bangolore and Vijayawada via Anantpur, Guntal, Guntur and sought early completion of work on Erraguntla and Nandyal railway line.

The other MPs demanded to run new trains from Vijayawada to Ahmedabad, Bangaluru and Howrah. Srivastava said all demands would be placed before the Railway Board for consideration.