Mumbai: Chaos at Dadar station prompts city commuter to become 'rail doot'

Narendra Patil guides passengers before going to work at a cement dealers’ firm in Mulund. Pic/Satej Shinde

The confusion and chaos at the two-railway Dadar station have prompted a city commuter to play ‘rail doot', or ‘rail messenger', for confused passengers near the Dadar bridge for two hours daily. Worli resident Narendra Patil arrives at the station two hours before it's time for him to go to work and guides grateful commuters to the right platforms.

I stay at Worli village and work in Mulund. On my way to the office, I pass Dadar station every day. I have been watching helpless passengers, many of whom are new to the city or who have just arrived on express trains, roaming around in circles at Dadar station. There is a lack of signage and indicators and people end up going to the wrong platforms," said Patil, who works at a cement dealers' firm.

In the course of helping people at Dadar station, Narendra Patil once made a board and has also received support from hawkers. Pic/Satej Shinde

"It was very frustrating to watch people struggle. I initially tried to help them while on my way to office. Then a few years ago, before the lockdown, I started waiting outside the station on the western side before heading to work and spent some time guiding people. At the time, many bridge works were on and station indicators and signage were missing. This led to further confusion. Nowadays, I guide passengers near the bridge on Dadar station's southern end, which does not have any indicators. It gives me immense satisfaction," he added.

"I appealed to the station managers of both railways to get indicators installed at the bridge on the southern end, which would be of help, but I was told that it is a BMC bridge. I then made a small board to guide passengers but it did not last. Seeing my work, local hawkers started supporting me," he said. Patil reaches Dadar station by bus two hours before it is time for him to go to office and helps as many people as he can.

Seamless station soon

Railway officials said that the process to convert Dadar station into one cohesive unit has been finalised. They will be renumbering all platforms to have common and continuous platform numbering, starting from Western Railway's platform one in the west to Central Railway's platform eight in the east. The changes will be in effect from December 9.

"The idea is to make the numbering continuous from 1 to 14 so that newcomers and those getting mixed up between platforms of both railways will have more clarity and will understand Dadar as one large station," a railway official said. "During this process, installation of comprehensive and improved signage has been planned," the official added.

Patil welcomed the change and said that he will continue to render his services. "The changing of platform numbers will help, but the railways should also put up proper signage and indicators on all bridges. I will continue my work out of the desire to help people, without any agenda. Many commuters have many queries. I spend the two hours just to serve the society," Patil said.