CR's 15-car locals get mixed reviews from commuters

A DAY after the Central Railway (CR) operated its first 15-car service on the mail line, commuters said their travelling experience could have been better had the railway officials taken care of the smaller deatil.

All decked up: A Kalyan-bound 15-car train ready to leave CST station yesterday. Pic/Sunil Tiwariu00a0

Several commuters complained announcements lacking at platforms before the arrival of a 15-car train.

Yashodhara Patil, who boarded the train from Byculla, said, "They should announce that a 15-car train is approaching. Once the train arrived, passengers started running towards the compartment as the additional coaches changed their usual location." Patil is a daily commuter on the Byculla-Kalyan route.

Varsha Konnur, who travels between Ghatkopar and Kalyan, said, "Several women passengers were hurt when they ran to board the ladies compartment. One of them even fell on the platform and lost her footwear."

Some commuters even complained that platforms lacked sheds and they had to stand in the sweltering heat, waiting for a 15-car train. They said trains were running 10 minutes behind schedule.

"There is enough space for female passengers in the new trains, but infrastructures at stations is not yet ready," said Bharti Shinde, who boarded a 15-car train Dombivli.

Though several women commuters appreciated CR's arrangement of three additional coaches for them, male passengers expressed their displeasure.

Rajesh Kadtar, a regular passenger on the CST-Kalyan route, said, "Why is the railway biased towards us? If they have reserved three coaches for female passengers, we deserve at least one. I will be writing to the authorities, seeking an explanation on this."

Officialspeak
A K Singh, Public Relations Officer for CR, said, "Maximum requirement for operating 15-car trains has been fulfilled, as our main aim was to run the services on the announced date for passengers' convenience. In addition, we have given the train a halt at those stations where the work has been completed. We are trying our best to complete the pending work at the earliest."u00a0