Western Railway suspends TTE after he makes passenger write apology letter for asking him to speak in Marathi

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The Western Railway has suspended a train ticket examiner (TTE) for allegedly making a passenger write an apology after the latter asked him to speak in Marathi, an official said on Tuesday, reported the PTI.

The action came after a photograph of the apology letter surfaced on social media, and passengers staged a protest, he said.

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Talking to PTI, Vineet Abhishek, chief public relations officer of Western Railway, said an inquiry is ordered into the incident that took place at Nalasopara station on November 3, and TTE Rakesh Mourya has been suspended.

"All passengers, regardless of their religion, language, or region, are equal to us. Providing excellent service to them is our goal. The matter will be investigated thoroughly, and necessary action will be taken," he said, as per the PTI.

According to the news agency, around 70 to 80 passengers staged a protest at Nalasopara station in Maharashtra after the purported apology letter surfaced on social media on Monday, officials said.

The officials said that the TTE asked the passenger, Amit Patil, and his wife to furnish their local train tickets. The couple asked him to speak to them in Marathi as they did not understand Hindi, and an argument ensued.

The TTE took the couple to the office of the Railway Protection Force, where Patil claimed that the official had threatened them and made him write an apology, they said.

The Western Railway, in its statement, affirmed its commitment to respecting all languages and passengers.

"Western Railway respects all languages spoken across the country and values the diversity of our passengers, standing firm on unity in diversity," it stated, as per the PTI.

Meanwhile, in an another statement the Western Railway on Tuesday said that it managed a passenger rush of around 3.10 lakh during the Diwali and Chhath festival at Bandra Terminus in suburban Mumbai.

In an official statement, the Western Railway said that it was successful in managing the surge of passenger traffic during the Diwali and Chhath festival rush at Bandra Terminus, which spanned from October 24 to November 4, 2024.

The statement further said that this year, the Western Railway undertook a series of strategic measures to accommodate an overwhelming influx of travelers, ensuring a safe and comfortable journey for an estimated 3.10 lakh passengers.

In response to the heightened demand, Western Railway operated a total of 249 trains from Bandra Terminus during the festive rush. This included 30 holiday special trains specifically designed to cater to the festival rush, along with 27 reserved passenger trains and three fully unreserved trains that provided essential service to general class travelers.

To further ease passenger experiences at Bandra Terminus, the Western Railway implemented a variety of facilities and services.

(with PTI inputs)