This is to bring to your kind attention the traumatic experience I as a bona fide woman passenger had to face during the journey from Thiruvalla to Bangalore in the Kanyakumari-Bangalore Island Express at 4.10 p.m. on the 7th of January. I, with my daughter, got into the train with a second class sleeper ticket to Ernakulam, for a journey of less than three hours. Since we had paid the excess fare for travelling in sleeper class, we confidently entered an empty -looking compartment and sat down at the far end of a seat on which a woman was lying down, with her permission. To avoid disturbing the woman, I kept my daughter in my lap. But some male passengers who were accompanying the woman in the same compartment began hooting and yelling at me, as if I were some kind if criminal, demanding that I vacate the seat immediately. When I replied in polite language that both of us were carrying sleeper-class tickets entitling us to travel in such compartments from 6 a..m. to 9 p.m. according to Railway rules, they again yelled at us using abusive language with vulgar connotations. Some attempted to pull my hair, and break my specs. Some of them even tried to drag out my bag which was kept under the seat, and throw it outside. They did not leave out even my daughter who was sitting on my lap, and tried to misbehave towards her. During all this time I was under excruciating mental agony and shock.
After some time, a passenger summoned the policeman and TTE to the scene. Their response was even more strange. They told me I should be grateful that the above passengers did not throw me overboard from the running train. They added that everything depended on their charity and goodwill. They could decide whether or not to accommodate me inside the compartment. I tried to explain that we had paid excess fare for travelling in a sleeper compartment during daytime, they simply laughed at us. Anyway, they led us to another compartment and seated us there.
This traumatic experience very clearly demonstrates the impunity with which such hooligans flout guidelines laid down by .the Railway authorities. The Reservation Rules laid down by Indian Railways clearly state that “When berths are reserved for passengers, the intention is to provide sleeping accommodation between 9 PM to 6 AM. During 6 AM to 9 PM, the passengers concerned, if required make room for other passengers in compartment up to its carrying capacity”(sic). It is a pity and a grievous anomaly that (i) bona fide passengers, especially women travelling with sleeper tickets, alone or with children, are thus left at the mercy of such villains who are a threat to their dignity and modesty, or even their lives, and that (ii) the employees of the Indian Railway such as TTEs, who are supposed to safeguard the interests of passengers facing difficulties, are blissfully ignorant, or pretend to be ignorant, of existing Railway Rules.
In the light of the above, with a view to preventing such humiliation, inconvenience, and mental agony to innocent passengers, I earnestly request that at least the following measures be taken by the authorities immediately:
(i) On all sleeper tickets it should be mentioned that passengers travelling with reservation for berths and seats are supposed to accommodate day time passengers between 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
(ii) On the sleeper ticket purchased for day time travel, it must be shown that it is valid between 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., as per existing rules.
(iii) Inside sleeper compartments, notices should be displayed, conveying the gist of the above-quoted rule of Indian Railways.
(iv) TTEs and security personnel must be given clear instructions regarding this, so as to prevent similar mishaps in the future.
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