From frivolous to hilarious, 1000 reasons people pull the chain in trains

Illustration/Ravi Jadhav

Did your train come to a halt in the middle of the tracks yet again for no apparent reason? You can thank your fellow commuter, who probably just yanked the alarm chain because his slipper fell out of the train. The chain is meant only for emergencies, but you'd be surprised at the reasons for which commuters pull it every day, whether it's so that their friends don't miss the train, or to click a monkey's picture.

The railway authorities are tired of commuters yanking their chain, quite literally. Despite imposing a R1,000 fine on nuisance cases of alarm chain pulling (ACR), commuters continue to abuse the system for the silliest of reasons.

The number one reason for commuters pulling the chain is to delay it long enough so their latecomer friends don't miss the train. This is most commonly observed in peak hours, when everyone is in a rush to get to work or return home.

Hundreds of people pull the alarm chain just so their friends don't miss the train, or because their phone or slipper has fallen out. Illustration/Ravi Jadhav

Phoney reasons
Last year, a commuter's obsession with getting the perfect monsoon picture brought the entire train to a standstill after his cell phone fell from his hands onto the tracks. He stopped the train near Kasara ghat so he could recover his phone. Many similar cases have been recorded in the ghats, where the lush greenery and rolling hills make for beautiful photographs.

"In yet another case, a traveller was speaking on the phone and his device fell, so he pulled the chain," said an RPF officer.

Monkey business
Losing your expensive smart phone might qualify as an emergency for some, but it's even harder to sympathise with commuters who have stopped the train just because their chappal fell down while they were standing at the entrance of the compartment.

Monkeys seem to be bad news for the railways. An RPF officer recalled, "There was a case where the train had already halted before Lonavla for some reason, and while waiting, someone got down to take pictures of a monkey. Meanwhile, the train started moving, so his friends yanked the chain just and the train halted."

In yet another incident last year, another monkey sighting resulted in a train halting before Lonavla. The primate had entered one of the compartments and started throwing passengers' luggage around. In this case, the railways did not fine anybody for pulling the chain.

Railway officials said that in genuine emergencies, such as a medical emergency, no one will be fined for halting the train. Commuters can also stop the train if coaches are dirty or if a passenger litters. But there are far too many cases where no proper reason is offered for stopping the train.

Chain reaction
In the first six months of this year alone, the Western Railway and Central Railway together recorded 1,323 such incidents. "Pulling the chain affects punctuality of trains. In a city like Mumbai, one incident can lead to several trains backing up in peak hours," said Sachin Bhalude, senior divisional security commissioner at CR.

Every time the chain is pulled, it results in a minimum delay of three minutes. In peak hours though, one delayed rake can cause all the following trains to back up, and the delay multiplies, causing inconvenience to thousands of people.

Also read: Every time someone pulls the chain, Western Railway loses at least 4 minutes

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