PUNE: The rising number of cases of emergency chain pulling in trains is leading to disturbances in train traffic and financial losses of the Pune Railway Division of Central Railway, said Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Renu Sharma.

According to the officials, 45 to 50 chain pulling incidents take place every month in the division. Every instance of chain pulling causes monetary loss to the Railways apart from disturbing the traffic flow and drifting of the security personnel from their regular duty.

“Although we have been taking action against those who indulge in chain pulling for frivolous reasons, the number has not reduced. We need awareness campaigns to inform the passengers that chain pulling not only causes financial loss to the Railways but also the passengers may end up paying a hefty fine for it,” said Sharma.

Alarm chains in trains are to be used only in emergency situations to stop the train. However, incidents of chain-pulling by passengers for trivial reasons seem to be on the rise. Cases against offenders are booked under Section 141 of the Railways Act, and are asked to pay a fine of Rs 500, states the report.

“There seems to be a misconception among the passengers that the chain can be pulled if the passenger fails to board or if there’s a small untoward incident. In most cases, the passengers could resolve the issues or register them by calling up the emergency number or approaching the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel on board,” said Sharma.

“The Railways loses about Rs 15,000 for each minute of delay. Every chain pulling delays the train departure by about 10 to 12 minutes as the staffers and RPF men have to reach the concerned coach and investigate. It also causes wastage of person-hours of security personnel who have to abandon their assigned duties to rush to the coach. We are hoping that with increased awareness, the incidents will go down,” said Divisional Security Commissioner Arun Tripathi.