More commuters but same old ventilators

Central Railway’s (CR) experiment with seats will allow more people to stand in five coaches but with the same old ventilators of 1.75 kilowatts.

Although officials replied in the affirmative when asked if the ventilators were good enough for the additional people, most people said the final decision would be clearer after the commuter survey. The commuter survey will be conducted for a week after introduction of coaches with modified seats on Christmas day. “We think the ventilators are powerful enough but we can never say because this is already an experiment with a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’, given its failure in 2006 and 1975,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

According to commuters, 1.75 kilowatts ventilators will be rendered even more useless with additional travellers, given that they are not able to fulfill their purpose with the existing density. Vijay Mahulkar (24), who works in the advertising industry and travels from Dombivali to CST every day, said that it is impossible to get fresh air in the compartment after catching the 9.21 am train. “It’s like you have to fight in a situation where someone’s backpack or body isn’t right on your face, you cannot feel any air coming in and out the ventilator unless you are tall enough to reach the roof. If the train is going to get more men inside, then we need a much more powerful machine for sure,” said Mahulkar.

At the Matunga workshop where the coaches were unveiled to the media, chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Narendra Patil, said, “We will be increasing capacity by 56 in four and 112 in one coach and it will be a big boon for Mumbaikars for whom, overcrowded trains have become a death knell.”