Top bosses of both Western and Central Railways may have promised more escalators, additional platforms, ticket booking windows, and many other amenities in Independence Day speeches, but reality differs

The top bosses of both Western and Central Railways may have promised more escalators, additional platforms, ticket booking windows, vending machines and many other amenities in their Independence Day speeches, but the reality differs. Officials from WR realised this during an inspection just a couple of days before August 15.



Wires can be seen hanging above the platform at Borivli station in June 2016. File pic

Earlier last week, the General Manager of Western Railway, GC Agrawal, inspected railway stations between Andheri-Virar, and sources claim that he pointed out the lacunae in the system and amenities provided to lakhs of daily users. Officials said that the elevated decks at stations have created a broader concourse for people to walk, but then there are issues regarding infrastructure.

“The escalators were not working and the corners of the concourse were dirty. Moreover, there were cables hanging dangerously right above the platforms,” said a WR official.

Cables are also hanging at Andheri, Goregaon, Borivli and other stations just below the roof. Unlike other stations where these cables are properly tied and fixed, at these stations, they hang dangerously. Earlier last week, an external cable fell on the overhead power cable that supplies electricity to trains near Charni Road station, which caused train services to come to a halt.

Loo and behold

Agrawal also visited the toilets, which sources said were in bad condition. Also, there weren’t any toilet facilities on the concourse at some of the stations. The idea behind these concourses is to ensure that people keep the platforms, which get congested, clear. On the Western line, these elevated decks are available at Andheri, Goregaon and Kandivli stations.

“There were discrepancies found during my inspection. I have told my subordinates to ensure that these problems are taken care of as soon as possible,” said Agrawal, General Manager, Western Railway.

Days after mid-day reported about the non-functioning cash/coin ticket vending machines; these were also reviewed during the inspection.

mid-day had reported on August 10 in the article, ‘Queues back at ticket counters, thanks to security flaw in COTVMs’. “There is no set deadline for restarting these COTVMs as relevant authorities are working on addressing the issues,” added Agrawal. Sources said that Agrawal asked his railway subordinates to not simply shut down the machines but, instead, place a board stating the technical issues.