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Suburban Mumbai commuters feel let down by the Railway Budget as the Railway Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, has hardly addressed their demands regarding punctuality and passenger amenities.
The Minister announced 75 new suburban services between Churchgate and Virar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kalyan, Kasara and Karjat but passengers are questioning the very logic behind the move. About 2,600 daily services are run by the Central and Western Railways, over 460 route km in the Mumbai region.
Chartered Accountant Ajay Shah, who has been using the suburban railways for the past 30 years, said, “Already there is bunching of trains on all routes and most of them run behind schedule by 15 to 20 minutes. Another 75 services will only add to the delay and increase frustration of the passengers. This delay might one day, lead to violence and destruction of railway property, like what happened in 1990-91,” he said.
It would have been better if they had managed the present services in a more efficient manner. Additional services look good only on paper, Mr Shah said.
Ms Archana Mali, a State Government employee, said though the railway budget speech was delivered in a measured tone by the Minister, Mumbai train passengers felt that it was like an express train, which zipped past a small-town station.
“While budget talks of stations having an airport like ambience, I feel it is just a pipedream. Today the food quality at the stalls and canteens is very poor and unhygienic. The packed foods are very oily. One can't have a decent snack in the evening before taking the train back home,” she said.
Mr Manohar Shelar, president of the Federation of Railway Passengers Association, said, “For the first the time the budget has focussed on safety, which is a welcome step. But there is no clarity on how this money would deployed in suburban Mumbai. Almost 8,000 people die every year in rail accidents across the country, with about 50 per cent getting killed in Mumbai region alone.”
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