KOCHI: Following misuse of alarm chains to stop running trains, the Railways on Tuesday came out with a warning that strict action would be taken against those who unnecessarily pull alarm chains. “Alarm chains are provided in trains for passengers facing safety or security issues to communicate to the Guard/Loco pilot the urgency that requires immediate stopping of a running train. This continues as a reliable safety feature for passengers during train journey. Thiruvananthapuram division is facing the issue of misuse of alarm chains almost on a daily basis,” an official release said.
“The usage of alarm chain without sufficient and reasonable cause is a crime under Section 141 of Railways Act 1989. Railway Protection Force (RPF) has registered 293 cases till June 2019 indicating that passengers resort to pulling of alarm chain for trivial and emotional reasons,” the release said.
The time required to reset the brake system and record the reason for alarm chain pull detains the train thereby shattering the punctuality of other trains on the route. “Therefore the detention caused by Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) is three to four times more than braking by loco pilots,” the release added.