Mumbai: Not allowed to board train in yard, commuters protest

The police stopped people from boarding the trains in the yard (right) The protesting commuters at Ambernath station

Rail commuters from Ambernath on Tuesday morning staged a protest on the tracks, after they were not allowed to illegally board local trains in the yard. This is the second such protest in the past one year with the earlier one reported at Kalwa. The train to CSMT was delayed by 10 minutes due to the protest. Central Railway is firm on its stand of not allowing boarding in the yard.

"The Ambernath-CSMT local comes to the platform from the yard rail siding since this is the originating station. Many commuters board the train in the siding itself, before it arrives onto the platform. This is sheer bullying. It leads to problems for others as the train is partially full by the time it arrives at the platform. Many senior citizens and ladies are denied seats despite it being the originating station," a commuter said. On Monday, following complaints from other commuters, CR stopped some commuters from boarding the train in the rail yard siding, leading to the problem. "Boarding the train in siding or yards is unsafe and hence not permitted. Passengers are kindly requested to board the train at platforms only to ensure safety," a CR official said.

Last year in August 2022, there were similar protests from commuters at Kalwa who illegally board local trains after their regular train had been replaced by an AC local train. The protest received political support, which had led to cancellation of 10 AC services, not restored to this day. Commuters beyond Kalyan have been complaining of few services, demanding more lines and trains as the population in areas like Badlapur, Ambernath, Titwala, Asangaon has increased. The CR has, however, been facing a limitation of two lines and the expansion project is stuck in land acquisition and other related issues.

Audio seat-belt reminder

Uber has rolled-out its new tech-enabled safety feature, the audio seatbelt reminder across India. This industry-first feature is designed to encourage riders to wear the seatbelts to improve safety on the platform. As per a report published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), more than 16,000 persons were killed in road accidents in 2021 as they were not wearing a seatbelt.

This feature prompts riders to buckle-in at the beginning of their first 5 Uber trips and on every 5th trip afterwards. Once a rider books an Uber trip and enters the vehicle, the driver's phone will play an audio reminder asking riders to "please use the rear seat belt for your safety". At the same time, the rider's phone will receive an in-app push notification reminding him/her to buckle-in before the trip starts. India is the first country where Uber is using a voice reminder and an in-app notification to nudge riders to wear seat belts in the back seat.