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Amid much hue and cry over the inadequate six-minute free window for pick and drop at the Chandigarh railway station, railway authorities have said in the past 15 days, 85% private vehicles were able to exit the lane within the stipulated time.
As per data shared by divisional railway manager of Ambala division, Mandeep Singh Bhatia, on Friday around 1,000 vehicles visited the railway station on a daily basis over the past 15 days and out of this, 85% were able to clear the area within the stipulated six minutes.
Around 10% vehicles took between six and 15 minutes, while 5% vehicles took over 15 minutes.
Under the new parking system, implemented in September, private vehicles are allowed free access to the pick-and-drop lane for six minutes. However, passengers arriving in commercial vehicles, including taxis and auto-rickshaws, have to pay ₹30 for even entering the lane.
If the both types of vehicles end up remaining in the lane for more than six minutes, the charge bumps up to ₹50 for up to 15 minutes and ₹200 if the lane is not vacated in 30 minutes.
The authorities have installed CCTV cameras at the entrance and exit of the parking and visitors who feel they got delayed in getting out of the parking in time due to some reason can plead their case with the station superintendent.
The railway authorities had agreed to conduct a one-month trial on December 23 last year after the Youth Congress went on a seven-day hunger strike to protest the new system.
Responding to the trial results, president of the Chandigarh Youth Congress, Manoj Lubana said, “85% seems a bit too high. I feel, only half the visitors are able to exit the lane in six minutes. The railway authorities have called us on Sunday for a full trial of the weekend rush. We will decide our next course of action based on this.”
While authorities remained mum about whether the free window will be increased, the DRM said they wanted to fix the issues being faced by people and will take up the free window issue with the stakeholders. The parking attendants and Railway Protection Force officials have also been directed to be polite with passengers.
Modernisation of railway station on track
The modernisation of Chandigarh railway station is on track and is likely to be finished around March 2024. The railway station will have three levels, which will be a first among all railway stations of the country and is being regarded as a lighthouse project to upgrade other railway stations in a similar way.
The railway authorities also want to shift the Chandimandir station by 500 metres and add another station between Chandigarh and Baddi. The division will also work to start hydrogen powered trains on the Kalka-Shimla heritage track, making it the first train in a hilly terrain to run on the eco-friendly hydrogen.
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