Sir,

Apropos the news report titled “SWR gears up for hassle-free movement of passengers” in Star of Mysore dated Oct. 3, 2022, I wish to draw the attention of the Railway authorities at Mysuru, to the plight of senior citizens and ladies with children having to walk LONG distance on the PF to reach the reserved compartments in Chamundi, Rajya Rani and Tipu (now Wodeyar) Expresses.

These compartments are located just behind the engine at the front and far away from the station main entrance.  Hapless passengers are made to walk back again all the distance at Bengaluru Station to reach the Metro or the city bus stand. This is like the Kannada proverb, “Pay and get Pain”.

Other passengers without reservation will be far better in this aspect. They save both money and the pain.

May I suggest to the authorities to re-position the three compartments, namely D1, D2 and C1, somewhere in the middle of the train formation and earmark on the PF by boldly (visible) marking so that it is not encroached by non-reserved passengers by mistake? This will reduce the inconvenience to the elderly reserved passengers at both the starting and destination stations.

The same PF marking system may be followed at all stations enroute to avoid needless crowding. Since all three coaches are together, a single TTE will be able to carryout the duty without any change from the present.

I have made this request to the team of authorities which was inspecting the facilities at the Mysuru City Railway Station on Oct. 1.

I hope my request-cum-suggestion will be given the due consideration.

– Prof. B.S. Shankara (Retd.), Mysuru, 5.10.2022

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