mid-day editorial: Train yourself to be better passengers

After a four-year delay, the Bombardier-class local train arrived on the Central Railway (CR), taking off with a ladies special from Kalyan to CST around 8.01 am, according to a report in this paper.

It was a train designed to puncture the Monday morning blues for the women. The train, which is manufactured by a Canada-based transportation company, offers more legroom, better ventilation, comfortable seats and brighter interiors. Impressed commuters cited certain advantages over local trains; sturdier door locks being one of them. A few disgruntled passengers complained that the design was not on par with the trains on Western Railway. On a happier note, CR is set to have more Bombardier trains on its routes very soon. There are several new trains planned for all routes in the near future.

Having said that, it is also up to the commuters to ensure that the new infrastructure is treated respectfully. We are quick to blame authorities when infra falls apart, and in many circumstances we are right too, but let us not use convenient amnesia when it comes to shouldering our share of the burden in projects and amenities for the public.

Do not deface these spanking new trains with abominable graffiti. Or paste stickers advertising services and products. Passengers must also desist from dirtying the compartments by not throwing filth and food thinking that the train will be cleaned eventually. Do not hang on the handles, since you are commuters and not trapeze artists, even though the inside of our trains may resemble a circus at times.

Preservation with pride is a two-way process. Like the Railways, which is under pressure to upgrade and cope with the crush of commuters, passengers using these facilities need to reciprocate as in the end, this attitude will benefit them.

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