Replacement of Chain Pulling system
Railway incurred significant losses every year due to late running of trains because of indiscriminate chain-pulling for no good reason.
The work of removing the chains from trains has already begun. As an alternative arrangement, the mobile phone number of the driver and assistant driver could be displayed in coaches, so passengers can call in case of an emergency. In addition to displaying the mobile phone numbers of the driver and assistant driver, one employee carrying a walkie-talkie would be present for every three coaches in each train.
It was no secret that the chain was rampantly misused by travellers who pulled it in self-interest rather that in case of emergency. The alarm chain is meant to be pulled only in case of emergency, and only when contact cannot be established with the travelling ticket examiner (TTE) on board. As things are now, people pull the chain when relatives or friends might miss the train. Chain-pulling to stop the train was a big menace in UP and Bihar, and train schedules were thrown out of whack by miscreants who pulled the chain for no good reason, causing huge losses to the railways.
We hope that this service will reduce losses, improve timeliness while keeping the emergency service intact but making citizens use it more responsibly. more