Each escalator on WR breaks down 5 times a day

Data from 2023 shows that the 106 escalators on stations between Churchgate and Virar had stopped over 1.93 lakh times during the course of the year

Mumbai: Brought in as a means to provide some convenience to lakhs of commuters, each escalator on stations on the Western Railway (WR) stop working an average of 5 times a day. Data from 2023 shows that the 106 escalators on stations between Churchgate and Virar had stopped over 1.93 lakh times during the course of the year. The Central Railway (CR), which has 101 escalators on the CSMT-Kalyan/Panvel route, does not maintain any record of escalator breakdowns.

The other reason is nuisance makers who, for fun, often press the red ‘STOP’ button that’s meant for emergencies. Sometimes, senior citizens who find it challenging to step onto the moving staircase also use the STOP button, say officials, who are in the process of collating escalator failures at various CR stations in and around Mumbai. (Bhushan Koyande/ HT PHOTO)

Every time the escalators are shut, it takes 30-45 minutes on average to get them to work.

One of the reasons that has come to light is that porters sometimes press the red buttons to stop the escalators to increase the chances of commuters carrying luggage hiring their services. This happens especially at stations where long-distance trains ply.

According to WR officials, each escalator on an average stops 5 times a day. “We keep getting complaints of escalators which have either stopped or are not in working condition. At least 95% of the time, the breakdowns are owing to unscrupulous elements and miscreants pressing the red button to stop the escalators,” said a WR official.

WR authorities have to spend ₹1.85 lakh a year on the maintenance of each escalator on its – that comes to ₹1.96 crore for 106 escalators every year. CR spends ₹2.97 lakh on annual maintenance charges (AMC) per escalator which comes to ₹2.99 crore annually. CR engineers said they monitor the escalators on a need basis and don’t maintain any records of the number of disruptions. “Our AMC is higher as it also includes cost of equipment and spares, and not just maintenance,” explained a CR official.