04 January,2017 03:34 PM IST | | Shashank Rao and Nimesh Dave
Non-functional escalators are causing long-distance train passengers arriving early in the morning much inconvenience as they have been forced to drag their luggage up the electric stairway
Uphill climb at Borivli station! Non-functional escalators inconvenience train passengers
Escalators at railway stations are definitely a boon for lakhs of commuters of suburban as well as long-distance trains. But, at Borivli, people have been facing a peculiar problem. During the period when long-distance trains arrive, up to 7.30 am every day, these escalators are shut.
The escalators have been put up on platforms 2-3 and 4-5. And, with them shut during those crucial hours, passengers have been forced to either carry their heavy luggage themselves or climb up these metal staircases or hail coolies.
Passengers have said that they suspect that this shutdown of escalators early in the morning could be the handiwork of the coolies, who are apparently losing their livelihood as escalators have made it very easy for people to carry their own luggage. "I will have to check with the relevant officers about this," said a Western Railway spokesperson.
Sources, however, said that there is a possibility that miscreants, at times, play mischief with these escalators. Apart from this, they also need to be shut down for maintenance or to cool them down; sometimes, technical failure also comes into play.
The railway staff claimed that this problem is a daily issue, forcing people to climb the escalators. The steps on them are higher than those leading to foot overbridges, which makes it all the more difficult.
WR authorities have claimed that they annually spend R1 lakh on each escalator's maintenance, and they incur electricity bills of R85,000 every month per escalator.
