Don’t inconvenience citizens while upgrading infra

The station is burdened with heavy crowds. Officials said they will fix the crowd management issue and explained that things will be much easier once work is complete

Commuters at the extremely crowded Virar station, which is undergoing a makeover, have complained of inconvenience. The station is being remodelled to make it seamless as a part of the Virar-Dahanu quadrupling project, but commuters pointed out that at the moment, chaos reigns on its premises.

The barricades and shifting entry points mean elderly passengers and women are struggling. There is an urgent need for crowd management, with people cited as saying that peak hours are a nightmare in particular. This space has time and again highlighted the need for clear announcements at our train stations. At times, the system is so poor that it is difficult to understand what the announcer is saying; many times, the voice is not loud enough. Sometimes, and most dangerous of all, is that there is no announcement at all, and commuters are left scrambling, guessing, following the herd. Proper signage is a must, as that can be a guide and, once again, bring clarity to commuters. Staff presence, one does understand that the particular facility may be stretched, will be a help, but most important of all, these staffers should be informed and well-trained themselves.

Officials acknowledged crowd management needs attention and that will be addressed once work is complete.

While plans to ease congestion are welcome, management needs to be done, and work is being done. This applies across infra where facilities that are being re-done factor in crowd or, in this case, commuter confusion. So, there have to be measures in place to ensure clarity, whether it be traffic infra, railways upgrade or any other upgrade with reference to the public who must be guided in what will be a new situation for them. There is little use in stating that one will tackle the problem or that it will be resolved after completion. It is when the work is ongoing that things must move smoothly, too.