Due to delayed services and overcrowding, there was a stampede-like situation at Dadar and Thane on Friday evening
Around 42 lakh commuters on Central Railway suffered on Friday, due to issues between motormen and the administration. Nearly 100 trains were cancelled and services were delayed by 15-20 minutes on an average, as commuters struggled to travel inside crowded local trains.
Due to delayed services and overcrowding, there was a stampede-like situation at Dadar and Thane on Friday evening. Many commuters gheraoed the station master's office at a few stations to halt the Panchavati express at Thane railway station.
In order to provide relief to passengers, the Central Railway gave permission to passengers to travel in outstation trains and provided special halts at Kalyan, Kurla, Thane and Ghatkopar.
Throughout the day, the administration and rail unions representing the motormen were fighting their causes. "It is an internal matter. The situation will normalise soon," said SK Jain, Divisional Railway Manager (Mumbai), Central Railway.
The most important point raised by the motormen is 'removal from service' for Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) cases. These are the cases wherein motormen are removed from their jobs, in case the train they are manoeuvring, passes despite their being a red signal. This happens mostly when trains are meant to halt at platforms but the motorman forgets and applies the brakes late. This halts the train beyond the 'yellow marked' point after crossing the signal. This is considered as an accident and so motormen are removed.
The breakthrough happened at around 5.30 pm when both parties moved an inch forward to compromise on the situation. The motormen were not working overtime which meant that they were riding the trains only up to their work hours. This resulted in trains getting cancelled and delayed. Many started late from terminal stations which also led to bunching of trains, one standing behind the other.
The CR has sanctioned recruitment of 898 motormen but only 669 run the existing suburban services. The motormen have to work for 104 hours in a fortnight. After completing this, extra hours put in during these 15 days, is counted as over time. The motormen are paid anywhere between Rs 700 to Rs 1,200 per hour of overtime depending on their seniority. The regular work shift is of 7-8 hours a day, on an average.
"The administration has promised that SPAD cases will be dealt with individually. We also asked them to fill up the vacant posts," said Praveen Bajpai, Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh.
After marathon discussions with the Central Railway officials, it has been assured that the motormen vacancies would be filled on an urgent basis with 48 vacancies being filled up immediately. It was also assured that the harsh punishment of removal from service and compulsory retirement imposed on the motormen working under such compulsions would be reviewed, read a statement from CRMS.
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