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Swaraj Express and Bandra-Ajmer Express that had been given a halt at Palghar after MP Arvind Sawant's efforts, had now been revoked.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.