The Central Railway is planning to install public address systems in local trains after receiving complaints from passengers on the lack of information on delays and cancellation of trains on August 29 and 30, when the city was under water.
‘Great resentment’
The Commissioner of Government Railway Police has sent a letter to the General Manager to ensure trains are running on time. The letter states, “According to intelligence on the ground, there is tremendous public resentment against the quality of train services. There were many potential law and order situations at railway stations which were diffused with great difficulty on August 29 and 30.”
About 122 trains plying the suburban section of the Central Railway were either delayed or cancelled on Tuesday when the city received 331.4 mm of rainfall, the heaviest since the record 944 mm registered on July 26, 2005. Passengers who were anxious to reach home were frustrated that there was no public address system and had to depend on railway authorities to know the status of train services.
About 35 trains were marooned and 22 of them suffered technical failures. On Thursday, only 97 rakes plied on the Central line, while about 40 lakh passengers travel on the suburban section every day.
Of the 145 rakes plying the route, 23 are under maintenance or set apart for use during an emergency, and 97 are Siemens rakes, which have an inbuilt public address system. A senior Central Railway official said all rakes would be installed with public address systems and announcements would be made even if trains were delayed by 10 minutes. The official said, “We will make sure passengers are informed about the reason behind the delay and the estimated time of arrival.”
Ravindra Goyal, Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway, said, “We are trying to install the public address system in all local trains as soon as possible.”
Authorities have also said guards will be asked to play pre-recorded messages during technical failures. Passengers have also complained against the poor functioning of the Train Management System, which was set up at a cost of ₹32 crore.