For the millions who ride daily on Kolkata's suburban trains, there are no great expectations from Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's second budget as part of the incumbent UPA government. Rather, there is a want for smaller measures that could go a long way in ensuring greater passenger convenience and comfort.
Banerjee's budget promise of 'Ladies Special' trains are a case in point. Last year, the Railway Minister flagged off a pair of ladies-only suburban trains in the city, which were initially well received. However, over six months after their launch, some passengers are raising questions over their efficacy.
Namita Ghosh-Roy, who has been travelling on local trains through Howrah station for over four decades, does not hide her satisfaction in having a minister who understands the needs of women passengers. “But there is no real need for the Ladies Special trains as their scheduling is rather odd. Rather, it would make more sense to have two compartments reserved for women on every local train,” she says.
Ghosh-Roy is not alone in pointing out the urgent need to rework the present train schedules. There are small, but crucial, time gaps in mainline services during peak office hours which lead to significant passenger accumulation. “If only the timings could be sorted out, it would make travelling much more easier. Sometimes, it gets so crowded that it becomes difficult to even get into the compartments,” daily passenger Sanchita Sanyal adds.
Basic passenger amenities, too, have remained unchanged at Howrah and Sealdah stations, despite Banerjee's announcement to upgrade both these major stations into world-class establishments. Rows of temporary stalls and small armies of vendors continue to greet passengers as they enter either railhead. Standards of cleanliness remain the same, as do the conditions of the washrooms. At Sealdah station's Jan Ahar outlet, which was recently opened by the Railway Minister, the flagship Janta Meal isn't available. But Schezwan chicken and fried-rice is.
Stall vendors and porters at Sealdah, however, are a disillusioned lot. Many vendors like Bijender Singh, who is currently under contract with the IRCTC, were promised to made permanent Railway employees, but that hasn't happened. “I even underwent my medical check-up that is mandatory before becoming an employee. In the whole of the railways, nobody thinks about us. But we serve thousands of passengers daily,” he says.
Porters here, too, rue the fact that they haven't been appointed as gang men.
But another set of stakeholders, the wagon makers from the state, remain optimistic on the prospect of the Railway budget bringing in more business. “We would like to see an increase in non-conventional traffic in the Railways as attracting commodities other than coal, cement and iron would require specialised wagons. Additionally, more private sector investment in wagon making would also be welcome,” Titagarh Wagons' vice chairman Umesh Chowdhary said.
