Is City rly station worth paying for?

Is City rly station worth paying for?
The Times of India


Bangalore: The Indian Railways are preparing to implement railway minister Lalu Prasad’s decision to hike the price of platform tickets from Rs 3 to Rs 5 from June 1. But one look at the amenities at the City Railway Station makes one wonder if it is really worth paying so much. The railway authorities insist it is a model station, but most passengers think otherwise.

The station has ten platforms. The roofing on platforms 7 to 10 barely covers the length of the platform. Much of the platform is left uncovered.

Several platforms are very narrow and are often filled with parcels, leaving passengers little space to walk. There are no ramps anywhere in the station, much to the consternation of the old and infirm. Of the 10 platforms, only the first five have toilets, putting passengers waiting for a train to inconvenience. The railways have opened booking counters on either side of the station for trains proceeding towards Mysore and Mumbai. But the three counters are grossly inadequate during peak hours. In many places, the lighting is also very poor. Moreover, reservation charts are never put up on platform nos. 2 to 10 . “This leads to a lot of confusion for RAC and wait-listed passengers,” as they are made to run helter skelter.

The station does not have a round-theclock first aid post, a duty doctor or a duty nurse. A railway station, which has thousands of passenger arrivals and departures should have medical facilities in the station premises itself, a railway official said.

When it comes to cleanliness on the platforms, there is much to be desired. “There is a stink all round wherever one walks. The subway is the worst maintained, as most of the times there is sewage flowing. The blocked drains foul up the air,” say passengers Shruthi and Jyotsna.

The worst, however, comes from the porters of Bangalore City railway station, who are “a lobby by themselves and bulldoze the passengers demanding exorbitant money to lift luggage,” says Jyothi Rajan of HSR Layout. The porter charges are also not exhibited anywhere in the station and wherever it is exhibited, it is covered by posters or advertisements.

When contacted, South Western Bangalore Divisional Railway Manager Mahesh Kumar said we have already taken up works for passenger improvement and it can be seen.

Quite a lot of progress has been made, but more work will be taken up. As per the Railway Board’s guideline, certain facilities are available. Bangalore City is a model station. Improvement of platform surfaces, provision of additional coverage, improvement to concourse, booking office, construction of a new entry, improvement to subway and foot overbridge are underway, he added.