Overcrowding in trains

WITH reference to the general complaint made that railway companies carry more than the fixed number of passengers in each carriage, especially 3rd class carriage, we have had recently two instances off resistance offered by passengers. In one case, a passenger in the Madras Presidency ejected the extra passengers thrust in and establishment his right to do so in a court of law when prosecuted. In the other, a Bombay Pleader effectively pulled the alarm chord in his carriage and stopped the moving train several times to get rid of the extra passengers forced into his carriage. We note, however, that though the passengers’ right to eject excessive passengers is recongnised, the use of the alarm chord to stop the train while moving under circumstances of overcrowding in a carriage is hardly the correct procedure. Its legality is yet to be established in a court of lawn till then procedure is attended with risks.