Shameful acts continue! In news that should make our head hang in shame, another Indian Railways train has been vandalised by passengers. The recently upgraded Surat-Muzaffarpur Express has been damaged in its maiden journey, with passengers stealing health faucets, dual flush valves etc from the toilets of the train. The Surat-Muzaffarpur Express which is operated by the Western Railway zone of Indian Railways had recently been upgraded under Project Utkrisht. Under this Indian Railways project, as many as 640 Mail/Express trains will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 60 lakh per rake over the next few years. The upgrade involves improving condition of toilets, berths etc.
This is not the first time that passengers on Indian Railways trains have indulged in such irresponsible acts. The newly introduced Tejas Express train between Mumbai and Goa, Mahamana Express between Delhi and Varanasi and the recently upgraded Panchavati Express are some of the examples of passengers vandalising the national transporter’s property. Recently, India’s first semi-high speed engine-less train – the Train 18 – also suffered damage due to miscreants pelting stones at its windows. According to a Railway Ministry official that Financial Express Online spoke to, instances of damaged windows due to stone pelting is very common for Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.
Indian Railways suffers damages worth lakhs and crores every year on account of stolen bathroom fittings, health faucets, blankets, pillow covers etc. As Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways looks to offer passengers better travelling experience, it’s time for us as citizens to value the money that goes into providing services and not steal items or damage trains. While it is impossible to keep check on the behaviour of every passenger, we feel that stricter action should be taken against those found damaging the national property. This may serve to be a better deterrent than signages.