BENGALURU: Travelling on the Vande Bharat Express may excite the public, but for passengers at Bengaluru Cantonment Station, it is a struggle. With construction delays at the main entrance on Station Road and two Vande Bharat Express trains operating from this side, afternoons descend into complete chaos. Neither railway officials nor police are around, allowing auto and cab drivers to have a field day extorting passengers by misleading them.
Of the seven Vande Bharat trains that run via the Bengaluru Division, two depart from Cantonment station six days a week -- one to Coimbatore (2.20pm) and another to Madurai via Trichy (1.30pm). They leave from platforms 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E, the relatively newer ones, which extend from PF1. The tiny passage leading to these platforms is located less than 100 metres to the left of the closed main entrance, with small signage printouts pasted here. However, many passengers miss them.
Confusion reigns on Station Road between 1pm and 2.30pm as both the Vande Bharat trains depart and over 800 passengers reach here with no assistance available outside.
This reporter spent an afternoon at Cantonment Station recently. In one instance, a mother, her teenage son and daughter alighted from a cab on Station Road around 1.30pm to take the Vande Bharat to Coimbatore. Auto drivers swarmed around them and misled them about the location of the platform for the train.
“One of us can drop you for Rs 150. You might miss the train if you try walking as it is far,” one driver lied. This reporter showed the family how close the entry actually was. As passengers alighted, auto drivers kept misinforming them.
A railway source told TNIE, “The bigger exploitation happens at the other entry. Many auto and cab drivers who ferry passengers assume that trains operate from the back entry (Millers Road side) due to construction work on the main road, and drop them there and leave.
Auto drivers based at the station tell the public that the Vande Bharat Express starts from the other side, which is correct. But they charge them anywhere between Rs 300 and Rs 500 to reach PF1 entry which is just 2km away, and deliberately take a detour.”
Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru, Amitesh Kumar Sinha, told TNIE, “We are aware of the issues the public are facing due to lack of proper signage at Bengaluru Cantonment Station. We are working on redressing them. As an immediate step, we will display the signage prominently. I will also ensure that Railway Protection Force staff are posted there immediately.”