Crammed coaches a problem: Train commuters

Over two weeks, the Internet has been abuzz with pictures and videos of overcrowded and poorly maintained train coaches from across the country.

Bengalureans who travel frequently said they had noticed an increase in ticketless travellers.

Last week, chartered accountant Guruprasad V was travelling from Bengaluru to Chennai with his 81-year-old father when he noticed the AC coach was “unimaginably crowded”.

“We were taking the Brindavan Express to Chennai to cast our vote. When we boarded the train at KSR station, it was all fine. But as the journey continued, in K R Puram, Cantonment and later, unreserved passengers started boarding the train. Many got into our AC chair car coach and blocked the doors,” says Guruprasad.

The Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) was helpless as the unreserved passengers threatened to throw him out, says Guruprasad.

“The Railway Protection Force (RPF) was short of hands to manage the crowd. Some passengers had even locked themselves up in the toilets. Eventually we moved from C2 to C1,” he says.

Neighbour trouble

A 45-year-old homemaker experienced a similar situation while travelling from Mysuru to Bengaluru on the Mysuru-Talguppa Express.

“Soon after we left Mysuru, at almost every station, general compartment ticket holders and even ticketless passengers started to take up space in the AC coach. There were people lying on the floor and women travelling with toddlers requesting seated passengers to make room for their children. After one point, there was no space to even move. No TTE came to check,” says Lalitha M.

A frequent traveller, Mani Gandan took a train from Mysuru to Bengaluru recently.

“I was with my father. He is 68. Since this was a quick journey, we booked general coach tickets. Eight people were crammed in four seats. It was when we reached KSR station when, all of a sudden, hordes of people crammed into the coach, not allowing passengers to deboard,” says the 34-year-old Horamavu resident.

The railway personnel, he says, make no efforts to manage the situation. “The situation was dangerous. There could have been serious injuries. Two RPF personnel were standing near the general coach, but they didn’t show any concern. They were only focused on the AC coaches,” he adds.

Tumakuru is second only to Mysuru when it comes to daily train passengers travelling to Bengaluru, says Mahesh Babu. The 45-year-old PR professional commutes from Tumakuru every day for work. Last week, while he was on the Gol Gumbaz Express, he saw a coach filled with ticketless passengers.

“People are complaining that there aren’t enough train coaches. But many people travel ticketless because they have got away with it before. Overcrowded coaches are becoming more and more common because
the railway officials are slacking. Proper ticket checks are not taking place, and the officials aren’t monitoring the coaches. I would say about 15-20% travellers have no tickets,” he tells Metrolife.

Lalitha says the plight of people in general coaches is coming to light only because the more privileged are now affected.

“The poor and underprivileged are inconveniencing the rich, and that is the only reason we are even talking about it. Building all these fancy trains for the rich while the poor have to stand in washrooms throughout a 24-hour journey isn’t the solution,” she says.

‘Supply-demand problem’

The Railway Protection Force says it has received no complaints of ticketless passengers causing problems in reserved coaches. “But yes, there is a supply and demand problem. More coaches need to be added as more people are travelling by train lately,” a senior RPF official told Metrolife.