Mumbai: CR restores old seating arrangement after getting feedback from commuters

Mumbai: In order to restore the space which was created by removing the three seats close to compartment door, the Central Railway (CR) has decided to restore its experiment of modifying seating arrangements in suburban train compartments. This move comes after the commuters approached CR officials and asked them to reintroduce the seats in the compartments.

A senior railway official said this modification was carried out in the year 2015 on a pilot basis in a suburban few trains, after instances of commuters falling from crowded compartments.

“We decided to restore the seats as commuters were constantly giving their feedbacks to roll back the seating arrangements. The seat modification was done in eight local trains on a pilot basis,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR.

However, passengers did not like the arrangements as the trains on which the modifications were done were mostly operated on longer routes such as Karjat, Ambernath, Asangaon and Titwala instead of shorter routes such as Thane and Kalyan. The commuters wanted it to change as it was creating chaos for the sitting passengers.

“Though it was the good move by the CR to create more space by removing the seats and accommodating more passengers so that there should be no chaos near compartment doors. But it was creating a lot of trouble to the sitting passengers as in that space more people used to stand due to which it was difficult to take breathe,” said Shweta Singh, a regular commuter on the central line.

The passenger association has welcomed the CR move. “It is a great move and all passenger will appreciate railway authorities for taking this step which will reduce their trouble and have safe journey,” said Subash Gupta, president of Rail Yatri Parishad, a passenger association.