Mira Road station

passengers

commuters

Western Railway Mazdoor Sangh

floods

Gujarat

The driver had to wait atfor about 3 mins on Tuesday.Whilealways complain about Railways’ utter disregard for punctuality, they also get riled up when trains arrive early. A motorman of a Churchgate-bound fast local faced abuse at Mira Road station during Tuesday morning rush hour when he arrived three-and-a-half minutes before time. A group ofeven stood outside his cabin to ensure that he didn’t leave early.The motorman, PN Gupta, was called names and ordered to wait till the scheduled departure. Since commuters follow the timetable to a T, any disruption is treated with hostility. Gupta had wait at the station for 2 minutes 45 seconds. The train rolled out only 45 seconds before time. However, Gupta was able to reach Churchgate at the right time.When asked by superiors about the long waiting time at Mira Road, Gupta, in a written reply, narrated the incident in detail, saying he had left Virar station at 7.57 am, the right time, and reached Bhayandar a few seconds before time for which he had to endure abuses from commuters. When he reached Mira Road, there too daily passengers wanted him to wait for other commuters. In the letter, Gupta said that he waited at Mira Road for the benefit of commuters.Sources said that a few motormen were angry with railway authorities for seeking a written explanation from Gupta. GG Mahurkar, general secretary of, defended Gupta saying that he was responsive to the commuters’ needs. “There is no reason for the Railways to take action against him,” said Mahurkar.Another motorman, on condition of anonymity, said: “When we think of commuters’ benefits, the railway administration takes action against us. On top of that we routinely face bad behaviour from passengers.” He also said that sometimes during altercations with passengers, motormen get worried about their own safety.Ravinder Bhakar, CPRO, WR, said: “For smooth functioning, suburban trains are permitted to leave 3 minutes before time from enroute stations only.” He said that this information is published in railway timetables.In response to the Mira Road incident, another senior official said, “If a railway employee is found to have delayed a train, appropriate action is taken. But it is always preceded by a proper inquiry to ascertain whether the delay had benefitted the people.” He also emphasised on the Railways’ sustain push for punctuality.When Mirror asked that if a train can reach three minutes before time, why can’t a new service be introduced to fill the time gap, the official said that a long distance train was supposed to come before the local but got stuck due toin. “That is why the motorman received a green signal and received early,” he said.