For Arun, an employee, experience of regularly commuting in MMTS to his workplace is no less than a nightmare. ‘’In mornings and evenings, special ladies compartments are allotted which is a welcome step, but only two compartments are allotted for gents. Because of this, some people travel by hanging on the edges of the footboard. I saw a person falling off the train while the train was on move as he could not find some place inside and standing on footboard,” said Arun. He added that if some more compartments are added to the existing services, the problem can be mitigated.
New general manager of the South Central Railway (SCR) PK Srivastava, who inspected and interacted with train commuters by travelling in an MMTS train on Wednesday acceded to the complaints of the commuters.
“I reviewed situation along with our staff and I am not happy with the services we run,” said Srivastava and pointed out that main issues with the train service are punctuality and security.
“A commuter while getting down from the train told me that the train arrived on time today and hoped it will be the same everyday,” Srivastava said adding that his vision is to improve services in such a way that they can rely on the time-table.
He said that providing security especially for ladies is top priority. With regard to security levels, he said that he cannot say anything about lapses but opined that there is a need to augment the security personnel for smooth functioning of services.
A number of MMTS commuters complained that punctuality of MMTS is one of the main problems. Sharan, a software engineer, who commutes from Seethaphalmandi to Hitech City, often faces brunt at workplace because of irregular timings of the train services.
“Often the trains do not arrive at specified time, they are late at least by 15 or 20 minutes,” pointed out Sharan and observed “While frequency of the trains should be appreciated, if the punctuality of train services improves, the overall experience of traveling in MMTS will be good.”
Venkat, an MNC employee, said, “I pay first class compartment charges, but it is of no use as general ticket holders also get into the compartment. And TTs do not conduct checking regularly.”
Decrying the situation another employee said, “I stand at the entrance of the compartment and tell people that it is a first class compartment, still people get in.” He suggested “A sign board should be displayed.”