MUMBAI: For K Shankar, 68, the morning commute from Thakurli to CST isn’t just about getting to work — it’s about surviving the chaos. Every morning, he braces himself to miss at least three or four trains as he battles his way onto the senior citizens’ coach. But squeezing in among a flood of younger passengers feels more like a wrestling match.
“I’ve got into arguments asking youngsters to vacate seats reserved for us,” says Shankar, an office secretary to a retired judge. “Most don’t cooperate, and standing through the journey becomes a daily struggle.”
For Jaydeep Tanna, an advocate with 85% disability, travelling in the Divyangjan coach is no smoother. “I’ve seen entire families pile into the coach, escorting a pregnant woman,” Tanna explains. “When I tell them these coaches are reserved for persons with disabilities or women in advanced pregnancy, they shrug and say, ‘Jo karna hai karo'."
“The offenders often get away with a light warning or a small fine from the authorities, but they are rarely taken to court,” adds Tanna in frustration.
Under the Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, offenders can be sentenced to two years in prison for fraudulently using facilities meant for passengers with disabilities.
At Borivli, Kandivli, and Khar stations, TOI found that the problem isn’t limited to train coaches — elevators meant for senior citizens and the disabled were packed with able-bodied commuters.
Recently, the Railway Board approved a plan to reserve a middle compartment on Central and Western Railway local trains for senior citizens, in addition to existing seats in the first and last second-class compartments. But one nagging question remains unanswered: How will the Railways keep these seats from being encroached upon when illegal travel is practically woven into the DNA of Mumbai’s local trains?
Despite special drives, the numbers tell a sobering story. From July to mid-October, the RPF nabbed nearly 4,600 illegal travellers on Western Railway alone. On Central Railway, the figure was a staggering 64,000 between July and September.
Sangita Rawlani, 62, a home tutor, has given up and adjusted her schedule to dodge the madness. “I’ve stopped traveling during peak hours altogether. I plan my trips for the afternoon and make sure I’m back before the evening crowd hits,” she says. “Getting pushed around by women yelling ‘chalo, chalo!’ while I carry bags is a nightmare.”
The Railways make announcements urging passengers to respect reserved spaces, but such reminders are lost in the rush.
CR spokesperson Swapnil Nila admits that staffing every elevator and coach with guards isn’t a sustainable solution. “Local trains continue to face capacity constraints, which leads people to occupy reserved coaches. But people should not make this a habit, even when there is adequate space,” he says.
Over the last decade, more than ₹50 crore has been invested to improve facilities for senior citizens and the disabled. Western Railway spokesperson Vineet Abhishek says, “We conduct regular checks to catch violators in Divyangjan coaches. But infrastructure alone can’t solve the problem — commuters need to cooperate.”
In the meantime, Shankar and Tanna can only do what they’ve always done — brace for the next train and prepare for the next struggle.
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