May 3: The city’s rail traffic went haywire on Monday in the fight between motormen and the authorities despite some out-of-the-box thinking by the latter. Commuters were driven to their wits’ end on Monday with western railway confirming that 70 of its trains
had been cancelled by 10 pm and central railway saying that 167 trains on its suburban lines had been cancelled by 9 pm.
Even through passenger trains were run with engines on both sides and locals run with electric engines pulling them along, the day belonged to the 1,000-odd motormen of WR and CR who once again managed to show that they wield the power to bring the administration to its knees. The day saw motormen trooping to the hospital claiming to be sick, while the railway medical department promptly declared them “fit” and asked them to get back to plying their locals.
According to CR, it was forced to run 28 special services by using conventional long-distance trains with electric and diesel locomotives. Four local trains were run with electric locomotives, as the motormen for these trains didn’t turn up. Suburban passengers were also allowed to travel on Mail and Express trains by giving them halts at Dadar, Thane, and Kalyan.
“Throughout the day, 18 motormen reported sick, out of whom 15 were declared to be fit and discharged from hospital,” said a CR official. On WR, the problem was just as acute as the system began collapsing with the advent of the evening rush hour. Several motormen had started declaring themselves sick and the buses arranged by BEST and MSRTC could not meet the rush of the lakhs of commuters who use the suburban system on a daily basis.
According to a WR statement, trains got stalled after 6.40 pm, due to the unavailability of motormen. Only two trains ran between 7 pm and 8 pm using alternate arrangements, but this did little to dissipate the crowds. WR also ran long distance trains between Dadar and Virar, but it didn’t have much of an effect, agreed WR officials.
The railway police, meanwhile, was seen in full force on railway stations in order to prevent any law and order situations. The police was particularly alert in the evening, as tempers usually soar around rush hour, increasing the risk of stoning or riots. “The entire 3,500-strong railway police force has been deployed,” said Mr Raj Khilnani, additional director-general, railway police.