According to officials, the incident ended up causing delays in peak hour services on the Central Railway from the suburbs.
Local passengers said that the female commuter, who was unable to board the ladies’ coach of the Khopoli-CSMT fast train arriving at platform 4 around 6.54am, was requesting the motorman to halt the train for a few more minutes to allow passengers to board safely. However, since the motorman needed to adhere to the schedule, he proceeded with moving the rake. This action seemingly angered the commuter, leading her to jump into the motorman’s cabin, apparently in an attempt to coerce him into stopping the train.
The stunned motorman immediately slammed the brakes of the train and requested the woman to alight but she refused, following which he alerted the station authorities and the police, which arrived at the spot. The commuter then disembarked from the cab lady and managed to climb up to the ladies coach with the help of fellow passengers.
The Diva RPF team meanwhile followed the lady till Kurla where a team of women constables were waiting for the train and later escorted her to Diva. A case was being registered against the commuter under several sections of the Indian Railway Act, said inspector Girish Tiwari, Diva RPF. Tiwari requested the commuters to cooperate with the railways and not obstruct train movements.
Meanwhile, the incident has once again sparked off the issue of inadequate services from the extended suburbs of Thane towards Mumbai. Shiv Sena functionary and railway activist Adesh Bhagat said they have sent several reminders to the administration to start dedicated services from Diva but to no use. “Trains come packed to capacity from Kalyan and Dombivli. Starting trains from Diva can help passengers from Mumbra and Kalwa.
