Thane: Commuters have been complaining about last minute changes in the arrival timings of suburban trains at dense stations like Kalyan, Dombivli and Thane. This, they claim, often leads to a stampede-like situation on bridges. And if the officials do not take steps to solve this problem then another Elphinstone-like tragedy can take place.
After the Elphinstone incident, the railway officials have been working on avoiding any kind of panic rush at station, especially bridges. However, last minute changed in arrival of trains, especially at Thane, Kalyan and Dombivli commuters prefer waiting on bridges as they do not want to keep changing platforms.
During peak hours, there is a lot of chaos at the stations. Passengers are seen either scrambling to access the bridges or just waiting on the bridges for the announcements to be made. This causes a lot of inconvenience to others.
"The situation is so dangerous at times that it can any day lead into a tragedy," said a railway official.
Commuters are a harried lot as during the peak hours train timing and platforms keep changing.
"I travel by the 5:36pm Ambernath semi fast train which should arrive at platform 5 at Thane but it is often diverted on the slow track, leading to confusion for passengers who often wait on the bridge. Due to this, there is very little space for others to move," said Saurabh Bhosale, a commuter from Vithalwadi.
At Kalyan, where the problem is the more, commuters have complained that they have no idea which platform the train will arrive at till about four minutes before. This often leads to a lot of crowd on the bridge. Some commuters also end up crossing tracks which is also dangerous. At Dombivli and Thane, RPF officials have been spotted most of the times to not allow passengers to wait on the bridge.
"Passengers are often unsure where the train will arrive and rely on waiting on bridges to ensure that they don't have to do last minute running around. The railways should have a dedicated platform for suburban trains to avoid inconvenience and stampede-like situation," said a railway activist.
Meanwhile, railway officials claim that last minute changes are not deliberate and are often done to ensure fast dispersal of trains on a specific track.
"The problem is major at Kalyan and Thane stations that see halts of outstation trains also which often is responsible for last minute changes of platform arrival for trains. There is a need to keep the trains moving and berth it at whichever nearest platform is vacant. We try our level best to avoid any major diversion," said a railway official.
I travel by the 5:36pm Ambernath semi fast train which should arrive at platform 5 at Thane but it is often diverted on the slow track, leading to confusion for passengers who often wait on the bridge. Due to this, there is very little space for others to move.
After the Elphinstone incident, the railway officials have been working on avoiding any kind of panic rush at station, especially bridges. However, last minute changed in arrival of trains, especially at Thane, Kalyan and Dombivli commuters prefer waiting on bridges as they do not want to keep changing platforms.
During peak hours, there is a lot of chaos at the stations. Passengers are seen either scrambling to access the bridges or just waiting on the bridges for the announcements to be made. This causes a lot of inconvenience to others.
"The situation is so dangerous at times that it can any day lead into a tragedy," said a railway official.
Commuters are a harried lot as during the peak hours train timing and platforms keep changing.
"I travel by the 5:36pm Ambernath semi fast train which should arrive at platform 5 at Thane but it is often diverted on the slow track, leading to confusion for passengers who often wait on the bridge. Due to this, there is very little space for others to move," said Saurabh Bhosale, a commuter from Vithalwadi.
At Kalyan, where the problem is the more, commuters have complained that they have no idea which platform the train will arrive at till about four minutes before. This often leads to a lot of crowd on the bridge. Some commuters also end up crossing tracks which is also dangerous. At Dombivli and Thane, RPF officials have been spotted most of the times to not allow passengers to wait on the bridge.
"Passengers are often unsure where the train will arrive and rely on waiting on bridges to ensure that they don't have to do last minute running around. The railways should have a dedicated platform for suburban trains to avoid inconvenience and stampede-like situation," said a railway activist.
Meanwhile, railway officials claim that last minute changes are not deliberate and are often done to ensure fast dispersal of trains on a specific track.
"The problem is major at Kalyan and Thane stations that see halts of outstation trains also which often is responsible for last minute changes of platform arrival for trains. There is a need to keep the trains moving and berth it at whichever nearest platform is vacant. We try our level best to avoid any major diversion," said a railway official.
I travel by the 5:36pm Ambernath semi fast train which should arrive at platform 5 at Thane but it is often diverted on the slow track, leading to confusion for passengers who often wait on the bridge. Due to this, there is very little space for others to move.
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