The central railways' Mumbai divisions witness ten incidences of alarm chain pulling on average daily. Between April and July 2022, the Central Railway Mumbai Division registered 1,230 unreasonable ACP cases. Out of these, about 1,143 passengers have been prosecuted, realising a fine of Rs. 7.59 lakh. Most of these cases happened on long-distance trains , but they also affected the pantuality of local trains too .
"Operation of long distance trains and suburban trains is still not fully segregated, hence any disturbance in the operation of long distance trains also affects the pantuality of suburban trains in the city," said a senior officer of the CR.
"Railways have provided an Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) option in Suburban and Mail/Express trains for use during emergency purposes only. Of late, it is seen that passengers are resorting to ACP for frivolous reasons like arriving late, alighting at intermediate stations etc., further added officials.
The act of ACP in a train not only affects the running of that particular train but also has a cascading effect on the trains that follow behind. In a suburban system like Mumbai Division, this results in the late running of mail, express, and suburban trains, hampering their punctuality. Furthermore, the misuse of ACP for the convenience of one or a few passengers ends up causing inconvenience to all other passengers.
"Resorting to ACP in unnecessary circumstances is a punishable offence under section 141 of the Railways Act," said an officer of CR, appealing to passengers to arrive at the terminus/station at least 30 minutes before the departure of their train to avoid any inconvenience.
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