An RTI filed by Virag Mhatre revealed that Palghar station generated more revenue in comparison to other stations like Godhra, Dahod, Nagda, Meghnagar and Bhawani Mandi, however, the several commuter associations from Palghar have informed that the Western Railway authorities have removed train halts at the station.
Passengers have been facing several concerns due to this, and considering this, officials from consumer associations met the Western Railway managers recently to discuss the matters. Sharing more information, one of the members, in an interview with the Mid-Day, said that despite meeting several authorities and expressing the issues, the department has taken no action, however, they have removed the train stops at Palghar citing revenue-related issues.
On the other hand, the RTI report showed a higher number of seats booked at Palghar between November 2019 and February 2020, and observing this, questions have been raised to understand the decisions taken by the officials for the operations at Palghar station.
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Adding further, the official from the consumer association said that the passengers have to face concerns as the citizens from Palghar have no other means to travel. Being a district headquarter, officials have to make a note of this sensitive issue and convey the concerns clearly with the concerned authorities. While the revenue aspects showcase clarity, the department needs to now respond to the grievances and resolve the matters.
Responding to this, authorities have stated that this will be taken as a priority and the concerns will be resolved. Concerned department in the WR is reviewing the matter and are working towards finding better ways to ease the issues faced by the commuters. However, the process followed by the WR to decide the train stoppages are based on several factors. Currently, the utilisation of Palghar station is said to be low, and necessary steps will be taken as soon as the officials find a solution to improve the matters.Meanwhile, Passengers on WR were agitated as Railways stopped issuing daily tickets. As per reports, the number of passengers increased drastically after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government allowed the fully vaccinated to travel in the trains.
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