Capital’s Ring Railway is an ‘available resource with immense potential

---

New Delhi: The implementation of the odd-even scheme in the National Capital to control pollution demands a dramatic transformation in the public transport module. The already packed Metro trains and DTC buses are, in no uncertain terms, ill-equipped to meet the expected rise in the number of commuters. While the Kejriwal government has pledged to increase the frequency of Metro trains and has taken a number of initiatives to increase the number of buses during the trial period, majority of Capital dwellers are still sceptical about the relief that it may bring. The argument is simple:

If the government is compelling people (although for a good cause) to opt for public transport on alternate days, the public transport module in the Capital, first, must be accordingly equipped to meet the demand. On an optimistic note, however, Kejriwal and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu recently discussed the Ring Railway network and how it could be used to augment Delhi’s public transport system. Supporting the odd-even formula, the minister also formed a committee to suggest ways for increasing frequency of local trains on Ring Railway.

But only increasing the frequency of local trains on Ring Railway is a slap on the face of those who will be forced to leave their personal vehicles and travel in them! Ring Railway is a dwindling parallel universe and has completely failed to keep pace with the brave new world of Metro and the fast changing geographical structure of the National Capital.

That said, it is perhaps the greatest hope that the residents of Delhi can look forward to. Despite having suffered continuous neglect by both the Railways as well as the commuters, the Capital’s Ring Railway is an “available resource” that has immense pottential to divert pressure from the already crowded Metros and DTC buses.

For that to come true, both the Railways and Kejriwal government, first, need to address the issues that are gnawing at the very existence of Ring Railway and are preventing commuters from opting for it.

“Men smoke in trains and there’s nobody to stop them”

When I first rode the Ring Railway last year, I saw an assimilation of a hundred scenarios -figments of a Delhi one does not observe from the car and the expressions of men, women and children scrambling off the train in all possible fashion. But along with these also came sights of men smoking openly inside the trains, others gambling with ganja pots in their hands or goons hurling an array of slangs at each other loudly. There was nobody to stop them then and there’s perhaps nobody to put an end to their nonsense even now. It is as if the rules of public transport do not apply in this part of the world and you better deal with it or face their wrath. Spotting an RPF personnel is as rare as snowfall in Rajasthan. Dear Railway Minister, how about diverting some of your funds to these unsung platforms at a time when your government’s ambitious Bullet Train project is costing approximately Rs 1 lakh crore of the tax payer’s money?

 “Toilets are far from platforms and home to rodents” 

Prime Minister Modi may have evoked the sentiments of over a billion Indians by personally sweeping the road to encourage Swach Bharat Abhiyaan but the stations touched by the Ring Railway are far from clean. At Lajpat Nagar Railway Station of the Ring Railway network, it took me about half an hour to spot a toilet, which was lost in the vegetation that had grown all around and inside it. As if this was not enough, the station staff were bathing in the open from a black Sintex water tank on the platform. The toilets, if at all, in most of the stations of the network have faced the same fate due to continuous neglect for years.

 “Where do we go after getting off    the trains?” 

One of the most important aspects of the Ring Railway network that requires immediate attention is the lack of feeder services. Several of these stations are located in secluded areas and one finds it difficult to find a bus, auto or even a rickshaw to reach one’s final destination. If Ring Railway network is really expected to share the load of commuters during the odd-even trial period and even thereafter, DTC and other concerned authorities must ensure that there are feeder bus services for the passengers, who get off at these stations. Auto and rickshaw stands nearby may draw passangers too.

“Trains are filthy and breeding ground for criminals” 

Most of the trains plying on this network are dirty with garbage lying all around and nobody to clean them. If those travelling in their personal air-conditioned vehicles are expected to bopard these trains, cleanliness is perhaps the minimum to demand. Several of these trains are also breeding ground for criminals. Chain-snatching, eve-teasing and pick-pocketing are but common in these trains. Appointment of security personnel, both at the stations and inside the trains, may go a long way in drawing at least some fraction of the commuters.

 “Ticket counters in name only, people live inside” 

Robinson Robert, an old admirer of the Ring Railway, who organises regular heritage tours had earlier told The Statesman that when trying to find the ticket counter at the Chanakyapuri station, he was “shocked to find some people actually living inside”. Most of these stations have only one functional ticket counter and that too without any representative at most occasions. Think of the long queue of people waiting to buy tokens at the well-equipped Metro stations and then fancy the crowds that will follow at these “tiny” ticket windows, if at all commuters are to be diverted to the Ring Railway network.

 “Stations in crime-prone zones and unsafe for women” 

The location of some of these stations raise serious question on the safety of women as they are located in dark patches, where criminals walk freely at night. Stations like Inderpuri and Dayabasti are crime-prone. While the Railways may ensure the safety of passengers inside the train and the railway premises, how safe can our women feel while passing through dark patches in the sadly, “rape-capital” of the country?