Passenger associations say lack of patronage or revenue isn’t the reason
Local train commuters have been facing issues due to lack of stoppages at Palghar station. File pic
Commuter associations from Palghar have alleged that the revenue generated by the station was way more than that of Godhra, Dahod, Nagda, Meghnagar and Bhawani Mandi, but still Western Railway removed halts of trains at the station.
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There has been a lot of discontent among passengers at Palghar regarding the same and a section of them met Western Railway managers on Thursday. “We have met a number of authorities concerned in the past one year, but no one has acted on our demands so far. Western Railway officials have removed the stoppages at Palghar not due to lack of revenue or patronage. Numerous RTI applications have found otherwise,” said Himanshu Vartak, consultative committee member for Palghar station.
According to RTI data by Virag Mhatre, the total number of seats booked from Palghar between November 2019 and February 2020 was 1,133, but the railways in their proposal showed a lower figure. Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh president Madhu Kotian, who also met WR General Manager Alok Kansal on Thursday, questioned why step-motherly treatment was being meted out to passengers travelling from Palghar.
“Palghar is a district headquarter station and passengers have no other way to travel. Repeated queries with the departments are only making commuters run back and forth. Considering this to be a very sensitive issue, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh conveyed the matter very clearly and spoke about the revenue aspects of the station as well. Kansal was very kind to understand the grievances and also went through the documents we submitted. He assured that this issue will be taken up on priority and hinted that the earlier halts, which were there before the Covid lockdown, could be eased into the system at Palghar,” Kotian said.
Palghar’s revenue is more than many of the bigger stations as per the railways’ data, another RTI activist said. “Palghar has patronage, but railways have removed the halts from the station to speed up trains,” said an activist. However, a Western Railway spokesperson refuted the allegations, saying, “WR is reviewing the matter. Station halts are decided as per the overall patronage and not based on one train. Railways are working on a national level to speed up trains. As per current statistics, the utilisation at Palghar is low and as soon as things improve, we will assess and take a call accordingly.”
Swaraj Express revenue
Dahod Rs 12,01,977
Godhra Rs 11,03,779
Vikramgarh Rs 1,83,582
Meghnagar Rs 6,07,655
Palghar Rs 13,31,678
Bhawani Mandi Rs 3,92,120
Nagda Rs 13,24,150
(RTI by Shivkumar Mishra)
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