Mumbai: Chaos and stampede-like situation prevailed at suburban Thane station on Friday, as commuters thronged to board the air-conditioned local on the first day of its regular run.
On the very first day, the 9:19am AC local departed at 9:45am, and this delay hit the schedule of normal services on the line, with trains running 15 to 20 minutes behind schedule in the morning, leading to crowding at Thane and subsequent stations on the route.
One of the passengers said, "The AC local should have been introduced in the afternoon, not in the peak hours, which can affect daily commuting. They replaced the existing service with the AC one, which caused over-crowding."
“There was hardly any space to move on the platforms. Morning peak hours was disrupted due to the introduction of the AC local. CR should have introduced the AC service in a new time slot rather than replacing a regular peak hour service," said another irate commuter.
According to eyewitnesses, passengers thronged the station to board the train, causing a stampede-like situation on platforms. The train's automated doors would not close because of overcrowding. Similar scenes were witnessed at all stations, causing the situation to deteriorate further.
Anticipating such a situation, CR deployed security personnel inside and outside the train, but the crowd got the better of them. The ensuing chaos also led to delay in the scheduled train services by 15 to 20 minutes during the morning peak hours.
CR officials admitted that the AC local caused over-crowding once morning peak hour rush started on the network at 8am. An official said the delay was because of the non-closure of the AC train's doors due to overcrowding.
The Central Railway will operate 16 services of the AC local on Trans-Harbour line between Thane-Nerul, Thane-Panvel and Thane-Vashi stations.
