The Central Railway Zone has increased the platform ticket prices by 5 times at several major stations in Mumbai. The new rate will be applicable from today itself. However, the new prices are tentative and will be in effect till May 23.
New Delhi. In order to control the incidents of unnecessary alarm chain pulling (ACP) during the summer season, the Central Railway zone has increased the price of platform tickets at many stations in Mumbai. The new rates will be applicable from 9th May i.e. today. Central Railway has increased the price of platform tickets at these stations from Rs 10 to Rs 50.
However, this price hike is temporary. According to the Railways, this rate will be applicable from May 9 to May 23. The stations where platform ticket rates have been increased are Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Thane, Kalyan and Panvel.
Chain pulling happening due to non-essential reasons
According to the railways, passengers are doing chain pulling due to non-essential reasons like arriving late and getting on or off at a station in between. Central Railway is ready for such incidents and with the vigilance of railway staff and help of other passengers, culprits are being caught in most of the cases but sometimes cases are being registered against unknown people also. According to a report in Mint, from April 1 to April 30, 332 cases of chain pulling have been registered in the Mumbai division. Out of these, 53 cases have been registered under valid reasons while 279 cases have been registered under non-essential reasons. Of these, 188 people have been found guilty under the appropriate section of the Indian Railways Act and a fine of Rs 94,000 has been imposed.
How Chain Pulling System Works
When the alarm chain of a local train is pulled, it displaces a small lever in the respective coach along with sending an alert to the train’s motorman and guard. This lever has to be fixed to make the train run again. At the same time, when the alarm chain of the Mail/Express train is pulled, it activates the Passenger Alarm Signal Device (PASD). It is corrected by the guard, TTE or any other officer of the train and then the train is run. The stopping of a train by chain pulling not only affects it but also other trains behind it. This causes delay in the timing of the train and causes inconvenience to all other passengers except a few people.
