Central, Western railway zones record over 12,000 cases of misusing alarm chain pulling in 2022

Railway officials said that it has been observed that passengers are resorting to pulling the chain for frivolous reasons such as arriving late, alighting or boarding at intermediate stations, etc.

Meanwhile, the Railways has appealed to the commuters not to resort to ACP for unnecessary or frivolous reasons. (File)

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The Central and Western railway zones have registered a total of 12,979 cases of Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) in the year 2022 between January and December. The Central Railway (CR), headquartered in Mumbai, recorded 9,049 such cases and apprehended a total 8,176 people who have misused the alarm chain on trains and collected a fine of Rs 55.86 lakh. The Western Railway (WR), also headquartered in Mumbai, has arrested 3,930 persons with the help of the railway police force for the offence.

The Railways has provided ACP options for passengers in Suburban and Mail and Express trains to be used for emergency purposes. However, officials said that it has been observed that passengers are resorting to pulling the chain for frivolous reasons such as arriving late, alighting or boarding at intermediate stations, etc.

“In a suburban system like Mumbai Division, pulling the chain results in the late running of trains, and hampers its punctuality. Further, the misuse of ACP for the convenience of one or few passengers ends up causing inconvenience to all other passengers,” a CR official stated.

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Meanwhile, the Railways has appealed to the commuters not to resort to ACP for unnecessary or frivolous reasons. “It is a punishable offence under section 141 of the Railways Act. Passengers are also advised to reach the terminus/station at least 30 minutes before the departure of your train,” the Railways said in a statement.

The WR carried out several special initiatives, drives, and operations last year to help passengers find their lost belongings, provide a safe travel experience, save the lives of passengers, take strict action against touts, and miscreants, and put criminals behind bars.

In 2022, under Operation ‘Jeevan Raksha’, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of the Western Railway saved the lives of 46 people, which included 24 males and 22 females. Under Operation ‘Nanhe Farishtey’, it rescued 649 boys and 325 girls in coordination with child welfare committees and NGOs.

During the year, under ‘Operation Amanat’, the RPF returned valuables worth over Rs 5.34 crore to their owners. Under the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, the officials booked 409 cases, recovered property worth Rs. 53.30 lakh, and arrested 1,088 criminals. There has been a 51.89% increase in the detection of cases compared to 2021. Under the Railway Act, the Western Railway’s police registered more than 1.69 lakh cases and collected fines to the tune of over Rs 4.54 crore.

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The sleuths also recovered contraband items worth more than Rs 24 lakh and apprehended nine persons under ‘Operation Narcos’.

“Under ‘Operation Upalabdh’, the Railways played an important role to ensure the availability of reserved tickets to passengers. In this connection, the RPF seized tickets worth more than Rs 32 crores illegally booked by touts and arrested 747 persons. The officials also detected a major case of issuing of e-ticket by the use of illegal software in Rajkot and recovered e-tickets worth more than Rs 29 crore,” said Sumit Thakur of the Western Railway.

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