Mohali railway station a nightmare for passengers

Akash Ghai

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Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 2

While plans are afloat to convert the Chandigarh railway station into a world-class transit point for travellers, the Mohali railway station, which is just 12 km away from it, is crying for the basic infrastructure.

A major inconvenience for passengers, specially the aged or disabled, is that the platform is at the height of 20 feet from the road. Since there are no escalators or elevators, passengers struggle to reach it. The problem is further aggravated due to the absence of any porter or luggage trolleys.

An elderly woman, Jagjit Kaur, who was seen facing inconvenience while going downstairs after alighting from the train, said, “I made a big mistake by getting down here. I should have gone to the Chandigarh railway station to avoid this trauma.”

Notably, 14 trains make a halt at the Mohali railway station daily but there are just two persons –a station master and a booking clerk – to manage the affairs. Sources said there was a requirement of three station masters and two booking clerks at the railway station. The first train comes in early morning and the last train leaves at 9.30 pm.

More than 1,000 passengers visit the railway station everyday but there is no security guard or watchman to ensure their safety.

“In the absence of security guards, passengers, especially women, feel unsafe. Apart from passengers, a number of migrants, factory-goers and villagers travel by the train to go to their workplace daily. One can easily guess how vulnerable they are here during late hours of late,” said a railway employee.

The poor maintenance of the railway station is another problem. Though the repair work is in progress, there was no proper seating arrangement for passenger. At several places, heaps of garbage can be seen. Even windowpanes were found broken or missing.

Public toilets were found locked while the waiting room is inaccessible to passengers. There is an absence of tea stalls. Sources claimed that the authorities had never floated tenders for shops at the railway station.

Lack of proper parking space, connectivity

The lack of proper parking space and connectivity to the station are other major problems. “The railway station has no parking contractor, so people do not park vehicles here. Another issue is the poor connectivity. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has provided only one bus route from the PGI to the railway station with the frequency of half-an-hour. The busses hardly cover four kilometers in Mohali thus leaving the passengers on the mercy of auto-rickshaws,” said an official. Fleecing of passengers at the hands of auto-rickshaw drivers is another problem.

No streetlights on approaching road

The one-km stretch leading to the railway station is without streetlights. Passengers are forced to go to the railway station in the pitch-dark in the night.

False claims by politicians

Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, MP, Anandpur Sahib, had promised to install streetlights on the entire stretch a year ago besides providing proper connectivity but the promises remain unfulfilled.

Important trains: Chandigarh-Amritsar Express, Jan Shatabdi Express and Anandpur Sahib-Hazoor Sahib Express.