Hyderabad: Shabby platforms, closed escalators ruffle feathers of rail passengers

Hyderabad: The absence of basic facilities like seats and escalators is causing inconvenience to the passengers at the Secunderabad railway station and most of them, especially elders, are forced to climb the stairs to reach the platform. They also complained of shabbily maintained platforms at the railway station.

According to officials, the passenger footfall at the Secunderabad railway station is 1.35 lakh per day and over 250 trains, including MMTS, ply every day. Though thousands of passengers visit the station every day, the station lacks seats and the passengers are forced to sit on platforms that are not maintained properly. Further, with the escalators closed, passengers are forced to climb stairs to reach their designated platforms.

Nagasuresh, a passenger said, "To move from one platform to another, hundreds of passengers are forced to climb stairs as the escalators are closed by the authorities. Even the elderly are forced to climb the steps. I had tweeted about the issue and tagged the officials concerned, however the issue has not been addressed till now. The authorities must take note and provide basic facilities, including better seating arrangement as well as escalators."

Apart from basic facilities, the passengers are forced to shell out more money on drinking water and food. Food rates are 20 to 40 per cent higher than the rates outside the station. While the water bottle costs Rs 20 per litre outside, it is sold for Rs 25 and Rs 30 on railway premises. Similar is the case with other beverages and food items where extra amount is charged. When traders were asked the reason for charging extra in prices, many of them stated that they had paid huge amounts to get the contract and it was fair to charge more.

On the condition of anonymity, a senior official at the station said that the management of Secunderabad Railway Station was handed over to Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) a few years ago. While the trains were operated only by Indian Railways, others such as tickets, food and all other sales were in the hands of private contractors. "Indian Railways has handed over commercial activities to private contractors, so the prices are double," said the officer.