Railway officials go on record

20 Mumbaikars speak up for city’s 6.1 million train commuters

CENTRAL RAILWAY

RS Virdi, Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway responds to queries regarding the Central line

There is only one extension counter at Dadar station. Since Dadar is a terminus, should it not have at least two such counters? — Deepali Mangala. Kalwa
DRM: Due to lack of manpower we cannot increase the number of counters.

Why is the first class ladies’ compartment in Central Railway trains so small? Anyway, students occupy most of it and there is no place to stand during peak hours. — Ashish Goel. Ghatkopar
DRM: The compartments were designed taking into account the number of people travelling. As we have more gents, their compartments are relatively bigger. However, it is not possible to change the size of the compartment now.

Kanjurmarg station has only one foot-over-bridge. You have to either walk to the other end or risk your life by crossing the tracks. What is going to be done about this? — Pawan Gupta. Kanjurmarg
DRM: We have undertaken the construction of a new FOB at Kanjurmarg railway station.

Why are there no proper announcements to inform people whether the scheduled train would be a 9 or 12-coach train? Because of this confusion, you either miss the train or have to run in the rush to board it. — Raj Mehrotra. Worli
DRM: I agree that there have been instances when the right train timings and whether it is a 9-coach or 12-coach train are not communicated. However, as far as possible we try to indicate the details of the arriving train on the indicator at every railway station.

Clerks at the ticket window often extend their break timings as per whim. The break timing mentioned on the board is never adhered to. One has to literally bang the windows for them to open it. Why is this so?— Shyam Kalwani. Thakurli
DRM: Will definitely check on this and those found guilty will be punished.

The doors and windows are jammed most of the time. It causes a lot of difficulty during the monsoon. You can't close the doors or windows when it's raining and if you do manage to do so, opening them becomes a Herculean task. Aren’t the railways supposed to ensure that the windows and doors are operating smoothly? — Avinash Jadhav. Thane
DRM: This is a major problem. Under the monsoon preparedness that we undertake before the monsoon, we check for all these things. The windows and doors must move smoothly. However, if that is not happening, I will personally conduct random checks and take action against those who have failed to ensure smooth operations.

One of the main foot-over-bridges (FOBs) in Kurla is occupied by hawkers. It seems to be more of a market than a FOB. Are the railway authorities going to do anything about this?— Sunder Rathod. Kurla
DRM: The FOB towards Kalyan end is under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. We have cleared the hawkers sitting on the bridge with the help of the BMC officials. However, if hawkers have returned, the BMC will have to look into the matter.

Why don’t stations have enough PCOs? Even the existing ones are often out of
order. — Manoj Nemani. Ulhasnagar
DRM: We are working towards increasing the number of PCOs on the railway stations.

Why is it that the indicators are either out of order or don’t display the updated status of trains most of the time? Also, the announcements aren’t made regularly. — Anusuya Nair. Chembur
DRM: This is not true. I have visited different stations and have found the indicators working.

Why are the Coupon Validating Machines often out of order? It makes no sense to queue up to get it stamped.— Kirti Chadha. Vikhroli
DRM: This was a major problem till recently. However, we have resolved it and have increased the number of CVMs by 150. There are almost 220 CVMs across the suburban section on CR and most of them are working. We will soon fix this problem once and for all.

WESTERN RAILWAY

Satya Prakash, Divisional Railway Manager, Western Railway addresses problems of commuters on the Western line.

There are not enough fans in the trains and those which are there hardly work. It gets very difficult in the summer. The platforms too don’t have enough fans. — Shalin Jaitly. Santacruz
DRM: Commuters can always seek help from the 'May I Help You' counters that present on all platforms. However, if they are not to be seen, one can inform the station manager or the railway employees on the platforms to get their problems resolved.

The ticket-window staff at almost all stations take too much time to issue tickets. Also, even if there are enough ticket counters, only a single window is open at any point of time. Why is it so? — Tahir Shaikh. Virar
DRM: All windows cannot remain functional round-the-clock. Also, as the issuance of tickets involves cash transactions, one has to be alert while refunding the amount. The railways are also installing Self Printing Ticket Machines (SPTM) and Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) machines for the convenience of commuters. One will have to merely swipe a smart card to buy a ticket.

In the evening, there is no security provided in the ladies' compartment. There are no constables in sight at the stations too. What are you going to do about it? — Akhila Jhaveri. Borivali
DRM: This issue has to be dealt with by the Government Railway Police. We will inform them about such complaints received from commuters.

There is lack of basic amenities at all railway stations. No drinking water is available, there are hardly any toilets, and the ones which are there are too dirty to even step in to. — Tejas Shroff. Vile Parle
DRM: Apart from the water-coolers and tanks at platforms, tea stalls and canteens offer free drinking water. About the stink from the toilets, we cannot clean them regularly as there is inadequate water supply from the BMC. To reduce the stink, we are planning to install bio-flush and bio-sense products of an international company as has already been done at Churchgate railway station.

Most railway stations are dirty and don't have enough dustbins because of which people throw rubbish either on the tracks or on the platform. What’s being done about it? — Devang Mehta. Mahim
DRM: We will review the situation and take necessary steps to resolve the issue.

There is an unending nuisance of vendors, especially in the ladies' compartment. Vendors get in at every station to sell their wares. Can’t hawking inside trains be banned? — Kashih Shah. Bhayander
DRM: Hawking can be checked if people stop patronising them. We cannot increase security or drive them away completely unless commuters resolve to boycott them.

People carrying heavy luggage get into general compartment, thereby inconveniencing other passengers. Also, there is no proper indication   about which side would the luggage compartment come, which is why people use the general compartment. How can you avoid this? — Sitaram B. Mira Road
DRM: I don't think this should be a major problem as we have separate coach indicator marks on all compartments.

There is no sitemap of the railway station to guide a person through the station. For example, if you want to know where the extension counter, cafeteria, drinking water facility or toilet is, you will have to keep looking. Can anything be done about it? — Manoj Chaudhri. Malad
DRM: This information is normally available on all railway stations. However, if people feel that maps would be convenient, we will definitely work towards putting up maps across the suburban rail network.

Parts of the roof at Dahisar platform No 2 is damaged. This causes a lot of inconvenience during the rains. When will this be rectified? — Abha Sachdev. Dahisar
DRM: I will look into the matter and get it attended.