Mumbai: Stir on Western Railway to get pre-Covid timetable on track

The services were resumed only at 6.58am, after the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and WR staff convinced the protesters that their demand would be looked into

After passengers’ agitation on the tracks on Wednesday morning, the Western Railway (WR) has decided to revoke the plan to go back to the pre-Covid timetable from December 3 and will continue with the schedule for Dahanu-Churchgate services which was introduced after the curbs were lifted.

Passengers, mainly essential services workers, staged a rail roko at Palghar, Kelwe Road and Saphale railway stations at 5.30am. (HT Photo)

In the pre-Covid schedule, the first train from Dahanu starts at 5.40am and reaches Churchgate at 7.34am. The schedule introduced as part of the unlocking slotted the first train at 4.40am from Dahanu, which would reach Churchgate at 7.04am. Miffed with the change as it would lead to crowding on platform, passengers, mainly essential services workers, staged a rail roko at Palghar, Kelwe Road and Saphale railway stations at 5.30am, disrupting local as well as outstation train services. The services were resumed only at 6.58am, after the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and WR staff convinced the protesters that their demand would be looked into.

“The notification of restoration of Dahanu Road suburban services as per suburban working timetable has been cancelled. Therefore, the local train services scheduled to depart from Dahanu Road at 4.40am to Churchgate for essential staff and permitted categories will continue to run,” said Sumit Thankur, chief public relation officer, Western Railway.

Sarita Sankhe, a resident of Boisar and a staff nurse at Shatabdi Hospital, Kandivli, said, “Earlier I used to reach my workplace around 6.30am and relieve the night duty staff. If the timing changes, the night duty staff will have to stay put for at least 30 more minutes. Also, earlier, there was no bio-metric attendance system at my workplace, but from mid-December, it will resume and I will be marked as latecomer.”

“We have registered a first information report (FIR) against unidentified protesters under sections 142, 143, 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code, Disaster Management Act, 2005 and State Covid-19 Regulation Act, 2020 and also section 174 (obstructing running of train) of the Railways Act, 1989. We are going through the video clips of the accused who were protesting at the railway station and we will arrest them,” said sub-inspector Vishwasrao Mudavatkar of Palghar government railway police (GRP).