Western Railways' new time table skips halts from Palghar, politicians upset

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Why have halts been removed only in Maharashtra and not in Gujarat?" Palghar MLA Sreenivas Wanga on Tuesday publicly questioned the railways, alleging bias after the Western Railway skipped train halts from Palghar station as part of the revised timetable. The issue promises to snowball into a major controversy after Members of Parliament (MP) Arvind Sawant and Rajendra Gavit supported the cause.

The issue came to light after members of the Dahanu Vaitarna Pravasi Sevabhavi Sanstha (DVPSS) procured the ticket reservation charts of Palghar station, and alleged the halts of two express trains, Swaraj Express and Bandra-Ajmer Express that had been given a halt at Palghar after MP Arvind Sawant's efforts, had now been revoked. "This is despite the ticket reservation charts showing good revenue collection from Palghar. These chart pictures are proof that Western Railway officials have removed the stops at Palghar not due to lack of revenue or patronage, but some other reasons. No stops from Gujarat have been removed. Maharashtra was purposely targeted here. We won't accept this injustice to Palghar district. Officials must answer on what basis stops were removed or else restore them immediately," Palghar MLA Shrinivas Vanga said.

"There was a meeting with the Western Railway this morning and the issue was on the agenda of Palghar MP Rajendra Gavit for discussion. I will also be following it up," MP Arvind Sawant told mid-day. "We have requested the Western Railway to restore the said halts. Palghar is a district head-quarters and few select trains halt here. If they also start skipping the halts, it is a matter of great injustice and bias," Mahesh Patil of DVPSS said. "Most of the Mumbai-bound trains halt at Borivli (Mumbai) which is quite unfair considering only this single stop is provided in Maharashtra and rest in Gujarat," Himanshu Vartak, consultative committee member, Palghar station said.

WR officials said they will examine the issue. mid-day has been writing about the simmering discontent among railway passengers on both Central and Western Railways with the revised timetable. Indian Railways has been on a mission mode to improve the speed and efficiency of trains and create corridors for maintenance, but it could raise a major controversy with a number of public representatives and activists opposing the removal of halts, and conversion of regular passenger trains into express ones.

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