After getting Central Railways to make Diva station a permanent halt for fast trains, residents say move is useless as trains arriving there are always overcrowded
After 'forcing' fast trains to halt at Diva station, locals don't want it now
MP Shrikant Shinde inaugurated the Diva station halt for fast trains on December 18
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Central Railway (CR) officials are finding it hard to appease commuters boarding trains from Diva Junction station. Their recent move to halt the Dombivli-CST-fast at Diva station, has received little appreciation with passengers describing it as a useless effort on the part of the CR.
According to passengers, the trains that arrive from Dombivli are already packed, making it impossible for them to climb. Diva residents are now demanding separate slow trains from Diva station, or special trains that don’t halt at Dombivli.
Only recently, railway minister Suresh Prabhu had agreed to the residents’ demand to halt fast trains at Diva station. Accordingly, starting December 18, around 24 fast trains (up and down) had started halting at Diva station during peak and non-peak hours.
During a protest last year, Diva residents had demanded that all fast trains halt at the station
“But, it’s of no use to stop trains at Diva during peak hours. Nobody can get into the fast local from Dombivli. This service is only useful for Kalyan or Dombivli-bound trains,” said Madhu Kotian, president of Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sang.
Sunil Pawale, a resident of Diva, agreed. “I board the train around 8.30 am, but I am unable to take any fast train from Diva because they are jam-packed,” said Pawale.
Shantarm Chavan, a resident of Diva said, “People from Mumbra have also started coming to Diva to catch the fast locals. This has doubled the rush.”
Meanwhile, another activist Subhas Gupta, president of Railway Yatri Parishad, said, “We need slow local trains from Diva to CST. The trains will help the residents of Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa.”
On an average, around 4 lakh commuters board local trains from Kalyan and Dombivli respectively. According to Kotian, at Diva, around 2 lakh commuters board the train.
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