Western Railway wants to hike fare to pay for escalators

Escalators are usually shut down for brief periods during the day when they over­heat. Also, an escalator shuts down every other day owing to technical faults. File Pic

This is not going to be a smooth ride. The Western Railway (WR) wants you to pay for the upkeep of 23 escalators and 10 emergency medical rooms at its suburban stations.

WR officials say they have proposed a fare hike to cover the 'huge expenses' they are incurring for the maintenance of these amenities. WR spends Rs 1 lakh on each escalator and Rs 3 crore on the medical rooms annually. The 23 escalators at various railway stations were installed at a cost of Rs 10 lakh each.

"Every day, thousands of commuters use these escalators. It becomes very difficult to keep them running. So, we have asked for a fare hike," says a senior WR official.

One escalator shuts down each day on an average owing to technical failure or mischievous commuters switching it off.

Officials say heavy usage often overheats the escalator, forcing the authorities to shut them down for some time during a day. "These escalators are power guzzlers. We get power bills of around R85,000 for each escalator a month. The cost of cement, steel and electricity are rising, but revenues aren't," says another WR official.

The emergency medical rooms at Churchgate, Mumbai Central, Bandra, Andheri, Goregaon, Kandivli, Borivli, Vasai, Virar and Palghar only add to this financial burden, claim the officials.

Mukul Jain, divisional railway manager (Mumbai), WR, however, said the proposal is still in a nascent stage. "We have submitted it to the headquarters and there is no immediate plan of a hike," he clarifies.

The Railway Board in Delhi gives the final clearance to all proposals on fare hikes.