If you have ever travelled in the Indian Railways, you might have noticed a red handle with the sign, "To stop the train, pull chain", but it is only in a case of emergency. However, nowadays, several people forget to read the penalty and precautionary measures written next to it.
Bhiwandi resident Ansari Nadeem Ahamad, who was travelling in Kevadia -Chennai central weekly Superfast Express on December 22, pulled the chain Bhiwandi station which is near his residence because the train’s scheduled next stop was at Kalyan, almost 13 km away from his home and this is not the first such case.
A similar case was reported on the same day at Thane station, where another super fast train was halted because of chain pulling. Reason? The passenger who pulled the chain wanted to deboard near his house for the next halt for the super fast was several km away at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.
"After the train stopped, our staff immediately rushed to the site and noticed that Ahamad was getting down from the train. During the preliminary inquiry, he accepted his guilt," said A Central Railway officer.
"When the train reached Bhiwandi, I pulled the chain because I wanted to get down near my home," Ansari told RPF during the investigation of the case.
In a similar incident, another person named Kailash Chavan, a resident of Shanti Nagar, Kalwa, pulled the chain. He halted Varanasi LTT super-fast between Kalwa and Thane stations on December 22 because he also wanted to get off near his house. The Varanasi-LTT superfast next scheduled halt was LTT, around 25 km away from his house.
Confirming the development, a senior officer of Central Railway said, “The Railways have provided an Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) option in Suburban and Mail / Express trains for use during emergency purposes only. Of late, it is seen that passengers are resorting to ACP for frivolous reasons like arriving late, alighting/boarding at intermediate stations according to their convenience. This not only affects the running of that particular train, but also has a cascading effect on the trains that follow behind.”
In a suburban system like Mumbai Division, this results in the late running of Mail/Express and suburban trains, hampering its punctuality.
"One case of chain pulling in the suburban section not only delays that train by 8 to 12 minutes but also affects at least 5 to 7 local trains,” the official said.
Central Railway’s Mumbai Division registered 1,660 cases of unreasonable ACP cases in the last 11 months from January to November 30, 2021. Out of these, about 1,400 passengers have been prosecuted, realising a fine of around Rs. 10.5 lakh.
"We appeal to the passengers not to resort to alarm chain pulling (ACP) for unnecessary and frivolous reasons, thereby inconveniencing the rest of travellers. Resorting to ACP in unnecessary circumstances is a punishable offence under section 141 of the Railways Act," said a senior officer of CR.
As per the Indian Railways Act, pulling the emergency chain without a valid reason is an offence and attracts a jail term of three months or a fine up to Rs 1,000.
