MUMBAI: The nuisance of commuters playing music and watching videos at a high volume on their mobile phones during train journeys will soon prove costly. Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) are set to penalise those who disturb fellow commuters thus, with proposed penalties ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 and imprisonment of six months. This will be carried out under Section 145 of the Indian Railways Act which pertains to “causing nuisance”.
On Monday, the railway authorities directed staffers to begin apprehending commuters listening to mobile phone content loudly and without earphones. Railway officials said they would implement the decision in local trains and later in long-distance trains. “We will first issue a warning. If the commuter/s still persist, they will be fined for causing nuisance,” said a WR official.
With mobile internet becoming increasingly accessible, watching videos, listening to music and consuming other audio content without headphones has become common inside public transport. The BEST undertaking has already put up stickers inside its buses to discourage commuters from doing this. “The problem is particularly in crowded trains during peak hours. This gets annoying and at times also leads to arguments,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of the Federation of Suburban Rail Passengers Association.
The rail authorities also agreed that while singing loudly, shouting and talking in groups was often checked under the name of causing nuisance, the use of speakers in phones was never included. “A passenger can now complain to a TC about a mobile being played loudly,” said a CR official. “The TC will approach the offender and ask them to stop it. As the fines are steep, they will first just issue a warning and ask them not to do it again.” The officials said this measure was to ensure that public transport was seen as a shared space, in which commuters needed to respect one another’s comfort.
{{/usCountry}}The rail authorities also agreed that while singing loudly, shouting and talking in groups was often checked under the name of causing nuisance, the use of speakers in phones was never included. “A passenger can now complain to a TC about a mobile being played loudly,” said a CR official. “The TC will approach the offender and ask them to stop it. As the fines are steep, they will first just issue a warning and ask them not to do it again.” The officials said this measure was to ensure that public transport was seen as a shared space, in which commuters needed to respect one another’s comfort.
{{/usCountry}}The railway authorities are also considering making public announcements at stations and inside trains to discourage such behaviour. They will inform passengers about the rules in the local language and in Hindi and English. The Railway Board had issued guidelines on mobile phone usage in July 2012, advising railway authorities to create awareness about loud conversations, prolonged noisy phone calls and offensive ringtones inside train compartments.
The move follows Southern Railway’s decision to crack down on passengers playing music or videos through mobile phone speakers and speaking loudly in train compartments. The railway zone has issued a circular to all its divisions, directing them to treat such behaviour as a nuisance and take action against offenders. A copy of the circular has also been sent to the Railway Board.
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