Maharashtra: Palghar halt restored after 2.5-year battle

Members of commuter associations celebrate the development

Palghar commuters have expressed gratitude towards mid-day in the wake of the Railways' recent decision to restore train halts at the station after a two-year-plus fight. Now, the Swaraj Express, Bandra Ajmer Express, Mysuru Ajmer Express and Dadar-Bhagat-Ki-Kothi Express will pause at the station.

Indian Railways has been on a mission to improve the speed and efficiency of trains and create corridors for maintenance by removing halts at stations.

After a few train halts from Palghar were removed, citing poor patronage, commuter associations protested. A Right to Information (RTI) query filed later found that the earnings of the station were pretty close to the standards of Railways.

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The Rajdhani Express (the Delhi-Mumbai one turned 50) trains will also halt at Palghar now. File pic/Atul Kamble

mid-day has been following up about the simmering discontent among railway passengers at Palghar since 2020.

"Initially Western Railway (WR) straightaway denied restoration of train halts, citing low earning due to poor patronage. Later, an RTI by us revealed that earnings of these trains were pretty closer to the norms set by Railways which helped us put pressure on WR officials to send a proposal to the railway board to restore these stoppages again," said Virag Mhatre, a member of Palghar's station consultative committee.

"Stoppages at Palghar help in decongestion at Borivli. Most of the passengers from Vasai Virar feel comfortable boarding/deboarding at Palghar rather than Borivli as it saves time and helps to avoid Mumbai local rush. mid-day has been with us from the beginning and now all the train halts have been restored. Thank you, mid-day, for the support," another member, Himanshu Vartak, said.

"This proves the fact that if one fights with proper documentation and legal perspective, there is always success. This is a collective victory of Palghar commuters," said Prathamesh Prabhutendolkar, joint secretary of the Dahanu Vaitarna Pravasi Sevabhavi Sanstha.

Hrudaynath Prabhakar Mhatre, divisional consultative committee member of the Mumbai Railway Pravasi Sangh, said, "Palghar is a district head-quarters and the railways cannot randomly skip halts at such an important station. We have now managed to restore all of them."

2020
Year halts were removed