Local trains have been running late on the Central Railway line for many months now. Apart from technical snags, pulling the emergency chain has been one of the reasons for trains to come to a halt.
In cases of emergency, Indian Railways have made a provision for commuters to pull the chain and stop the train. But well, people have been pulling the chain for their own unusual reasons.
- Missed the station (be attentive?)
- Willing to get down at the unscheduled station (can't have stops of your choice)
- Seeing rat in the compartment (most of us don't like rodents)
- Clicking pictures (wait, what??)
This year, so far, 666 cases have been reported where commuters have pulled the chain without an actual emergency, that in turn has affected the CR time-table.
As per the Indian Railways Act, pulling the emergency chain is an offence and attracts a jail term of three years or a fine of ₹1,000. Between January and June 2018, railways collected fine worth lakhs from 666 cases. In 2017, in the span of six months, 530 such cases were filed and the number kept going up.
When a train halts after the chain is fiddled with, it takes 10-15 minutes to start the train. On many occasions, passengers call up their friends to check where they have reached and accordingly pull the chain, so that they get company to travel.
2016- 1947
2017- 1393
2018- 666 (till June)
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