Western Railway has decided to cancel the proposed restoration of local Dahanu-Churchgate train schedules from Thursday until further notice following a savage 45-minute lockdown by commuters, primarily essential service employees, at Palghar, Kelwe Road and Saphale. am on Wednesday morning.
The WR will now continue the local Dahanu Special 2 from Dahanu to Churchgate in the Up section at 4.40am. The train schedule would be changed at 5.40 am on Thursday
Essential services employees were protesting the proposed restoration of Dahanu’s commuter rail services from December 3. Both up and down traffic was halted before the Rail Protection Force (RPF) and WR staff convinced protesters to clear the tracks.
Currently, local trains transport only employees of essential services such as civic nurses, technicians, pupils, doctors, pharmacists, as well as employees of the Mazgaón dock, BMC, Mantralaya, police and other services and with the change in schedules employees would come to workplaces. late.
The WR had to reset the time of the Up section, and with the exception of the Dahanu Special 2 premises, which will continue to depart Dahanu at 4.40 am to arrive at Churchgate at 7.04 am, while Dahanu Special 1 leaves Dahanu at 5.40 am to reach Andheri at 7.34 am it had to be restored as DRD 93001 with a departure time of 7.05 am in Dahanu that would arrive at Virar at 8.25 am.
In the Down section, Dahanu Special 1 which used to leave Virar at 4.10am to arrive Dahanu at 5.25am was scheduled to depart Virar at 5am to arrive Dahanu at 6.15am as DRD 93001, while DRD 93011 which used to leave Churchgate at 7.45am and arrive in Dahanu at 10.35am was scheduled to depart Virar at 9.10am and arrive in Dahanu at 10.35am as train number DRD 93011 as per the Dec 1 notification now has been canceled, Sumit Thakur, WR’s director of public relations (CPRO) said Wednesday.
During the execution of the special suburban services in the gradual opening of the blockade, the Dahanu Road train schedules had been temporarily changed and, as of December 3, the schedules have been restored, Thakur said in a statement.
Sarita Sankhe, a nurse at Shatabdi Hospital, Kandivli said the WR should continue to run the facility at the current hours. “Before I used to arrive at my workplace around 6.30am and the night shift staff would be relieved and now with the schedule change, unless I get to the hospital, the night shift staff will have to stay,” he said. Sankhe, who stays in Boisar and has been commuting for the past decade.
“Before there was no biometric assistance system in my workplace, but from mid-December biometric assistance will start and I will be late for work and face the wrath of my superiors. The Nair hospital has already resumed the biometric care system and soon all civic hospitals will have the same soon, Sankhe said.
The government Railway Police (GRP) in Palghar has registered an FIR against unidentified protesters under Sections 142,143,149 (Illegal Assembly) of the IPC, the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Covid-19 Regulation Act of the State, 2020 and also Section 174 (obstruction of train operation) of the Railways Act 1989, said Deputy Police Inspector Vishwasrao Mudavatkar of Palghar GRP.
“We are reviewing the video clips of the defendants protesting at the train station and we will arrest them,” he said.
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