RailEnquiry

Anantnag:Commuters shuttling between various parts of south Kashmir and Srinagar by train on a daily basis are pitching for an increase in frequency of service as well as capacity of trains.As the national highway gets congested with each passing day, trains have become the only viable and time-saving option to travel, they feel.“The trains make four round-trips between Anantnag and Srinagar, which is insufficient keeping in view the number of commuters travelling in them every day,” said Showket Ahmad, a resident of Anantnag, who travels to his office in Srinagar and back every day.Commuters say a train, which has a capacity of 650 to 750 passengers at any given time, often carries 3,000 passengers and the number swells up to 5,000 on Mondays and Saturdays.“The number of compartments in a train varies from seven to eight, each with a capacity of around 90 passengers. But throwing caution to the wind, the railway authorities allow each compartment to hold 400 passengers,” said Abdul Rashid, a daily commuter.He said of the maximum eight compartments, two remain reserved for women, who were almost negligible in number. “One can only imagine the chaos that prevails in the remaining six or sometimes five compartments,” said Rashid.They add that travel by train remains fraught with danger due to the heavy rush.Further, around 2,000 commuters have been issued railway passes.“I don’t understand the rationale behind allotting 2,000 passes when the trains don’t have the capacity to carry even half that number,” said Tajammul, another commuter.The commuters said the railway authorities should either increase the frequency and capacity of the trains or stop selling tickets beyond their carrying capacity.“Stopping the sale of tickets is not a good option but it will ease the pressure on the trains to some extent,” said another commuter.

PACKED BEYOND CAPACITY
A train with a capacity of 650 to 750 passengers often carries 3,000 passengers and the number swells up to 5,000 on Mondays and Saturdays