WR commuters complain of poor ventilation

Commuters travelling in trains on the western line claim that the blowers fitted inside compartments to improve ventilation are not functioning.

Commuters travelling in trains on the western line claim that the blowers fitted inside compartments to improve ventilation are not functioning.

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According to sources, the railways had disconnected the blowers during monsoon as there were chances of a short-circuit if water entered the electric panel.

But now with October drawing to end, the department concerned is still to reconnect it.

“Many passengers complain to us about the non-functional blowers. But this is not in our hands,” said a WR guard on condition of anonymity, adding that several motormen were also approached for help.

Namrata Pawar, a Borivli resident who works in a private firm at Marine Lines, said, “The blowers in our trains haven’t been working for a long time. I complained to the motormen a few times, but they told me that the couldn’t do anything about it.”

Another railway source said they had informed the officials concerned about the blowers, but they were still waiting for formal orders from higher authorities. When contacted, Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relation officer, Western Railway (WR), claimed all the blowers were working. “There may be an isolated incident. We will check the specific rake, if the details are given to us.”

The WR runs about 1,250 suburban services with 80 local trains. More than 35 lakh passengers travel in these trains on daily basis.

Though the capacity of a 12-car train is about 2,400 passengers, more than 5,000 passengers travel in it.

In an attempt to offer some relief to commuters and provide proper ventilation in trains, the railway had fitted blowers in all its new suburban trains procured under the Rs 4,100 crore MUTP-I project. Those were later replicated in other retro-fitted trains, which were converted from DC to AC.