08 February,2015 04:44 AM IST | | Varun Singh
On Saturday one of the handles broke while a passenger, Arqam Shaikh, was holding it, putting him dangerously off balance
The complaint letter and the broken handle
If you travel by local trains holding the overhead handles in the passage, this story might scare you.
On Saturday one of these handles broke while a passenger, Arqam Shaikh, was holding it, putting him dangerously off balance. It was 15-car Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) bound train that left Kalyan at 11.44 am. At CST, he along with a few of his fellow commuters, took up the matter with the station master and handed over the broken handle to him along with a written complaint addressed to the railway authorities.
The complaint letter and the broken handle
"Not only the handle, even the doors often open on its own. On Friday one passenger, while trying to get into the train at Dombivli, fell down and was injured," said Shaikh.
J Mishra, another commuter from Dombivli, who since the Friday incident has been regularly visiting the deputy station master's office with his complaint, said: "Our pleas are falling into deaf ears. On Friday, one passenger was injured due to faulty locks at the door."
What has miffed the passengers even more is that they were traveling first class. Since the price of a first class ticket far higher than a second class one, the passengers are demanding better services. There is only one premium 15-car train that runs on the Central line of the railways, but even that lacks proper maintenance. Meanwhile, the deputy station master at CST took the complaint, called the maintenance department, and asked them to take immediate action. AK Singh, PRO for Central Railways was unavailable for comment.
