CR new timetable bothers commuters

Commuters who travel on the Titwala- Kasara section and catch the only Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) from Kopar that cuts across the Western Railway (WR) to Boisar, are at a loss after the new timetable has robbed them of those precious seconds to make it to the DEMU. As a result, commuters will have to travel to Dadar (and extra 80 km) and then to Boisar.

The inconvenience is as result of the CR’s new timetable which came into effect from March 19. The timetable has delayed the first Kasara to CST train by four minutes, due to which commuters are unable to reach Kopar (an important switching station for many) at 5.44 am and instead get there at 5.48 am. The DEMU leaves Kopar at 5.45 am, which used to give commuters a few minutes to make a dash for the DEMU.

It was a known fact that the motorman of the DEMU that halts at Kopar waited for commuters to board the train as it’s the only DEMU train that gets commuters to work on time. The motorman would make up for the lost 2-3 minutes once the train started running.

One of the commuters affected by the change in timetable, Ajay Atmaram Gaokar (50), who works in a private company and travels to Boisar from his residence in Asangoan, said, “I am aware that the new timetable has brought in new services to far-off suburbs, but the fact is it has made our life a living hell. I have to now travel all the way from Asangaon to Dadar and then switch to the Western Railway where I catch the Saurashtra Mail from Dadar to Boisar,” he said.

“We run up within the period of less then two minutes and try to catch the DEMU since the 80-km extra journey to Dadar takes too much time and we end up being late for work,” said Mr Gaokar.

Vishwanath Dhatrak, a railway activist, said the issue would be raised in the CR’s Suburban Railway User’s Consultative Committee (SRUCC) which is usually scheduled every fortnight.