"To stop train pull chain" notice inside railway coaches is soon set to become history. The railway ministry has decided to do away with these chains. An official said railways had incurred a loss of Rs 3,000 crore because trains ran late with the indiscriminate chain-pulling for no good reason.
At Izzatnagar in Bareilly, the work of removing the chains from trains has already begun. Officials say that as an alternative arrangement, the mobile phone number of the driver and assistant driver could be displayed in coaches, so passengers can call in case of an emergency.
Rajendra Singh, public relations officer of the North Eastern Railways, Izzatnagar division, said, "The alarm chains will no longer be installed in new coaches being manufactured at rail coach factories across the country. The Railway Board has already issued a notification requiring that the chains not be installed. Maintenance workshops have already started removing the alarm chains from existing coaches. At Izzatnagar railway workshop, technicians have already started removing the alarm chain from coaches coming in for maintenance."
He said that in addition to displaying the mobile phone numbers of the driver and assistant driver, one employee carrying a walkie-talkie would be present for every three coaches in each train.
Singh said it was no secret that the chain was rampantly misused by travellers who pulled it in self-interest rather that in case of emergency. The alarm chain is meant to be pulled only in case of emergency, and only when contact cannot be established with the travelling ticket examiner (TTE) on board. As things are now, people pull the chain when relatives or friends might miss the train, the officer said.
During a recent visit to the city, Union minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha had said that chain-pulling to stop the train was a big menace in UP and Bihar, and train schedules were thrown out of whack by miscreants who pulled the chain for no good reason, causing huge losses to the railways.
Divisional railway manager, (DRM) Izzatnagar division, Chandra Mohan Jindal, said, "It is undeniable that chain-pulling is among the major factors delaying trains. This has come up for discussion before the Railway Board. The problem is acute in states like Bihar UP, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana."
