look news india
Crores of passengers travel by Indian Railways every day to their destination, but sometimes due to irresponsible actions of some passengers, the journey of co-passengers becomes difficult. Playing loud songs in train coaches, watching videos on mobile without earphones or talking on phone on loudspeaker till late night have become common complaints. Taking these problems seriously, Indian Railways has implemented strict guidelines to maintain peace and discipline during the journey. According to railway rules, if a passenger disturbs others by playing loud music or making noise in a moving train, he can be fined under sections of the Railway Act and in serious cases can even be sentenced to jail.
It is the legal right of all passengers to have a peaceful environment during train travel. Under Section 145 of the Railway Act, creating any kind of disturbance in the train or station premises, indecent behavior while intoxicated or disturbing the peace of other passengers is considered illegal. If a passenger continues to play loud music, keeps the mobile speaker on high or uses abusive language despite objection from his co-passengers, he can be deboarded from the coach. Along with this, there is a clear legal provision to impose a financial fine on him and, considering the seriousness of the case, to send him to jail for up to six months. The Railway Board has given clear instructions to all zonal offices in this regard that immediate punitive action should be taken against any act causing inconvenience to co-passengers.
Under the Night Travel Rules of Railways, the time from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am has been fixed for rest of the passengers. During this time period, any passenger is strictly prohibited from listening to songs or watching videos on mobile without earphones or headphones. Apart from this, talking loudly on the phone in the coach after 10 pm or gossiping loudly while sitting in a group is also considered a blatant violation of the rules. During this time, only night lamps are allowed to be switched on by switching off the main lights of the coach, so that there is no inconvenience to the sleeping passengers. Also, middle berth passengers cannot open their berths forcibly before 10 pm or after 6 am, so as not to cause inconvenience to the passengers sitting below.
Railways has further increased the responsibilities of the on-duty staff to ensure effective implementation of the rules. Ticket checking staff (TTE), coach attendants and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel deployed in the train have been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that peace and order is maintained in the coach during night time. If there is a complaint from a coach about continuous noise or loud music and the on-duty staff does not take cognizance of it, then it will be considered as negligence on their part. TTE has been given the power to issue challan to the passengers who break the rules even after explanation and if necessary, they can remove the unruly passenger from the train with the help of RPF at the next station.
If you are traveling in a train and a passenger is disturbing you by playing loud music, behaving rudely or making noise till late night, then you do not need to suffer silently. Railways has issued a 24×7 helpline number 139 for quick disposal of such cases. You can lodge a complaint immediately by calling 139 or through the ‘RailMadad’ app by entering your PNR number and berth number. As soon as a digital complaint is registered, an alert is immediately sent to the RPF squad and TTE present at the next station or moving train, who reach your seat within a few minutes, solve the problem and take action against the guilty passenger as per rules.
This strong stance of Indian Railways is not to take away the personal freedom of any passenger, but to protect collective civil decency and public convenience. While traveling in public transport, it is the responsibility of every citizen not to disturb the sleep and comfort of any sick, elderly, child or other tired passenger by his entertainment. If you want to watch your favorite songs or movies while travelling, always use good quality earphones or headphones and talk on the phone only in a low voice. A little sensitivity and following the rules will not only save you from huge fines and legal hassles, but will also make the entire journey pleasant and memorable for everyone.