‘Ladies’ coach can’t be extended’

The long-standing demand on Central Railway (CR) of increasing the ladies’ first class coach by half a coach on the mainline will remain a distant dream. Senior officials said this cannot be done unless all the trains are converted to 15 coaches and that it will be unfair to the men travelling in the general coaches.

Senior officials have said that currently the even more long overdue conversion of the Harbour line from nine coaches to 12 has been given first priority over the rest. “We have just taken the 72-hour on the Harbour and we are still a full two three months away from the actual conversion to 12-coach. If we don’t do it on time there is a fear that the Harbour commuters may not tolerate this and conduct a massive rail roko,” said the official.

This fear comes from recent events on the Harbour when commuters conducted a rail-roko twice, once at Panvel and the other at Chembur due to delayed services in this month alone.

Women railway activist Lata Argade said that even if the argument was accepted the fact that the railway officials have not be able to increase to 15 coaches even after first services was run as far back as 2012. “They had introduced a 15-coach train back in 2012 so what is taking them so long to map out the conversion of all the train to 15 coach ” asked Mrs Argade.

She is also of the opinion that the state government too must stop dragging its feet and clear out the red tape as well provide an alternate to the commuters of the city. “The state should try and fast track works that are already going on as well as provide some other modes of transport and also declare new duty hours,” she added.

The retired ex-general manager Subodh Jain first ran the 15-coach train in October 2012.