Mumbai: Stagger trains, not our office timings, commuters association tells CR

The new Vande Bharat train from Jalna to Mumbai

Mumbai commuter associations have asked Central Railway Mumbai (CR) to stagger trains instead of office timings of Mumbaikars to keep a balance of suburban services. A new Vande Bharat train from Jalna - the constituency of Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve Patil - was flagged off to CSMT amid hype on Saturday, making it the fifth such train to Mumbai in the last few years. A few other new express trains have also been introduced recently.

Passenger associations said that no new local train services have been introduced in the past few years, but Vande Bharat other populist trains find a way, all the way into CSMT. "On the one hand, CR is saying there is no path for trains and staggering office timings was the need of the hour to kill the concept of rush hour in Mumbai, but on the other, all kinds of new trains are being introduced," a passenger association member said. "There are no tourists or places of importance in Jalna. What was the research that led to the start of a premium train between Jalna and Mumbai, except for the fact that it is the railway minister of state's election constituency?" another member asked.

President of Kalyan Kasara Karjat (K3) Railway Passengers' Association, Rajesh Ghanghav wrote to the railway administration expressing their displeasure. "We have been struggling for the past eight years to get the frequency of local trains increased on the Kalyan-Kasara and Kalyan-Karjat lines to reduce crowd, prevent accidents and ensure a hassle-free journey, but every time the railway administration has given the same reason… that the present traffic is more than capacity due to the double line and as per guidelines of the Railway Board. We fail to understand how Vande Bharat train services are being introduced and increased on the same congested route. Can anybody from the Railway Board justify, please?"

Ketan Shah, a senior passenger association member, said this was a very strange development. "The punctuality of the Mumbai division is really worrisome. It is beyond their control. In addition to this, now they want Vande Bharat and goods trains to be run on priority. It is a sad state of affairs," he said. Shyam Ubale, general secretary of K3 association, said, "What is the special magic that Vande Bharat additional services and special festival trains can be easily run on the same congested line and within the guidelines of the Railway Board too?"

The CR in October had revived the city's debate of staggered office timings by formally announcing the implementation of much-awaited flexible working hours for all its employees and sent out letters to over 350 organisations with the appeal to start staggering timings at their offices. Railway officials said that the new trains are introduced in such a manner that the rush hour timetable of Mumbai suburban trains is not disturbed. "Also, the process of segregating national and suburban traffic is currently underway with works of an additional corridor and a Dedicated Freight Corridor to Mumbai being built and under various stages of progress. Once this is done, local traffic can run independent of outstation mail express and goods train traffic," an official said.