Will this train go to Bandra?

Maps delineating the itinerary on local train compartments, have disappeared, clueless commuters now rely on the guidance of annoyed co-passengers

Remember those bewildering and utterly confusing days you spent familiarising yourself with the railway routes in the city, glancing repeatedly at the route maps on the compartment walls so you wouldn't miss your station?

Passengers facing a similar predicament today will no longer be able to take recourse to these maps, which have all but disappeared recently.



The absence of these maps, which would earlier be pasted atop the compartment doors, has been giving rise to confusion among commuters.

The route maps are indispensable for passengers, supplying them with helpful information about the itinerary of the trains on the Central, Western and Harbour lines, including mention of all the stations at which the train is scheduled to halt.
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They are invaluable to railway commuters, especially those new to the city and unfamiliar with the train routes. After their disappearance, passengers have been at the mercy of the often unreliable information co-passengers supply them.

Madhu Kotian, president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh claims that complaints, have been pouring in from inconvenienced railway passengers who used to earlier rely on the maps to keep track of their journey.
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She further added that of the 70 lakh passengers who commute on the trains plying in the Mumbai suburban section every day, almost 20 per cent are new to the city.
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"Those who are new to the railways are naturally bewildered and confused. They keep enquiring about their destination, and this in turn inconveniences the other passengers.

The route maps play a vital role in guiding passengers, and the authorities should ensure that they paste new maps when the old ones suffer wear and tear," he said.

Commuter speaks
Santosh Kumar, who moved to Mumbai last year, claims he faced a similar problem while availing of the train services.

"I had to travel from Bhandup to Dadar, and thereafter from Dadar to Vile Parle. I remember that there was no information available inside the train regarding the successive destinations. Neither was any announcement made. I was utterly confused.
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I would repeatedly ask my fellow passengers for help, who would often express their irritation. Some even rudely rebuffed my queries," said Kumar, an MNC employee at Vile Parle.

Team MiD DAY found out that the route maps are sponsored by an agency, in return for free advertisement space on the local trains compartments.

However, it is not only the passengers' association, but also the railway authorities that have been parrying complaints about the absent maps.
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"We have heard about the problems that the commuters have been facing. Only last month, a group of foreigners came enquiring about the absence of a map on their train, and we somehow escaped embarrassment saying that this was an exceptional case.
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We have been receiving complaints from regular passengers, who are tired of entertaining queries constantly from clueless passengers. It is true that the new trains have electronic announcement systems, but the old trains are still running without the maps," said the official.

Subhash Gupta, member of the National Railway Passenger Consultative Committee (NRUCC), said, "I wrote a letter just two days ago to the general manager of the Central, Western and harbor railways, intimating him about the problems faced by commuters.
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I am sure the matter will be taken into account, and the problem sorted out very soon."

The Other Side
When contacted, Ashok Kumar Singh, PRO, Central Railway, said, "The contract with the agencies that provide the route maps has expired recently.

We have already floated tenders inviting proposals from agencies, but have received a tepid response. As soon as we can rope in an agency, we will restore the maps on the trains."

A railway official said on condition of anonymity, "Installing electronic maps, similar to the ones being planned for the Metro railway, is not on the agenda.

We already have electronic announcement systems in place in the new rakes, so there is really no need to install the electronic maps.

Soon, brand new trains will replace the existing ones, and the issue will be resolved automatically."

14 lakh
Number of new passengers who travel by local trains in Mumbai every day