The absence of timely announcements during an emergency and the lack of attempt at sensitising the station staff are some of the ills Calcutta’s transport lifeline is facing, according to commuters.
Passengers alleged that the authorities seldom make any announcement when trains run late or are stalled because of a glitch or a suicide.
The problem becomes ugly during major incidents, such as the one on Thursday when a Dum Dum-bound air-conditioned coach caught fire between Rabindra Sadan and Maidan stations.
The passengers were stranded in the tunnel for more than 20 minutes, struggling to breathe as smoke filled multiple compartments.
In the current system, the driver and the guard can make public announcements. They are connected to each other on the intercom.
“We want the motormen (drivers) to concentrate on driving. So, the guard makes announcements,” a Metro official said.
All one can hear on the public address system on a Metro train is a recorded voice announcing the name of the next station and on which side the platform will be.
“There are occasional messages on cleanliness or reminders to drop tokens while leaving the station. Apart from that, there is little else,” said Kaushik Gupta, a resident of Naktala and a Metro regular.
A crack on the tracks at Chandni Chowk station disrupted services for more than an hour on December 21, leaving rush-hour commuters hassled. Many passengers had complained that there was no on-board announcement stating the reason for the disruption and when normality would be restored.
Ditto on October 1, when a Dum Dum-bound train got stranded while leaving Mahatma Gandhi Road station in the evening after the driver noticed smoke emanating from the undercarriage. The passengers remained stuck on the train for at least 15 minutes without knowing why before some of the doors were opened manually.
A Metro official said the drivers do not always know the reason for a disruption. “Drivers stop a train when they see a red light ahead. They do not know the reason. So, what will they announce?” he wondered.
But the passengers Metro spoke to said some information was better than no information at all.
The problem posed by information gap is made worse by insensitive staff at the stations. “The employees try to camouflage lack of information with rudeness. ‘Train bandho, aar kichhu janina’ is a common refrain,” said a woman who travels to work and return home by Metro every day.
Raja Chowdhury takes Metro to reach his office in Esplanade on the days his driver takes leave. He buys a token every time he takes a ride.
“The person at the ticket counter at Jatin Das Park station is often talking over the phone while issuing tokens. It slows down the process and I miss a train. The man is oblivious to the urgency of the passengers,” said Chowdhury.
Thursday’s problem also highlights the lack of synergy among the driver, station staff and the control room.
According to Metro officials, the fire was spotted around 5pm and the control room was alerted within a couple of minutes. But the first help came — in the form of fire services personnel — after 20 minutes.
