Pune-Mumbai Pragati Express

public property

Mumbai-Manmad Panchavati Express

Mumbai-Goa Tejas Superfast Express

Many fittings, including mirrors and faucets, have been wrecked or stolen

Just two weeks afterstarted making daily trips with painstakingly refurbished coaches, passengers with no regard forhave damaged the interiors and stolen several fittings, including mirrors, faucets and Braille stickers.It’s now a familiar pattern: railways, slammed on social media for running stuffy, dirty and old coaches with no modern features, upgrades rakes at considerable expense, and passengers’ mindless vandalism undoes the hard work. In September, such acts inside the new compartments ofleft Central Railway (CR) with a repair bill of Rs 9 lakh. Last year, passengers stole headphones fromduring its debut run.The 16 coaches of Pragati Express, one of the most popular trains on the Mumbai-Pune route, were given a makeover at the cost of Rs 60 lakh under a national rail plan called ‘Utkrisht’. A team of 25 employees carried out the work between August 15 and November 3. It became CR’s first refurbished rake under Utkrisht and was reintroduced into service on November 4.On Saturday, CR officials lamented the rapid decline of interiors because of vandalisation and the theft of railway property on board. “We are trying our best to provide the latest amenities to passengers. I urge them to utilise new facilities to the fullest and make an effort to leave them intact for fellow travellers,” said CR’s chief public relations officer, Sunil Udasi.Mobile holders, taps, mirrors, dustbins and health faucet holders are among the things that have disappeared from coaches. Even a Utkrisht sign inside a compartment has been stolen. The cost of the missing items: Rs 43,000.Another CR official said increasing security personnel on trains was not a long-term solution. “In the end, passengers have to conduct themselves properly. You cannot damage or steal property and then complain about unsatisfactory services,” the official said.He described the work that went into improving Pragati Express’s rake. “New ceramic tiles were laid in washrooms, which were renovated with modern bathroom fittings and features. New steel luggage racks, acrylic mobile holders, roller blinds, LED lights, fans, mirrors with a wooden frame and passenger information systems were installed,” he said. “Each coach has different, pleasing interiors with colour coordinated, vinyl-film wall patterns and paint.”The effort will amount to nothing if passengers don’t respect railway property, which is meant for their use and convienence,” the official said.