Maligaon, Nov 12: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) detected 1145 cases and arrested 1111 persons during January to October, 2021 over N. F. Railway for pulling alarm chain in the trains without sufficient valid reasons, causing inconvenience to the passengers. The arrested persons were prosecuted under section 141 of the Railway Act.
In one such case on 9th November, 2021 RPF team of Guwahati arrested one woman passenger from Guwahati Railway Station for needlessly pulling the alarm chain of train No. 03181 UP (Kolkata – Silghat Town Special). The passenger was travelling from Barddhaman to Guwahati in coach No. D-3 of the train.
She pulled the alarm chain as she failed to get down during schedule stoppage time of the train. The train eventually detained for about 03-15 hours due to mechanical fault after needlessly pulling alarm chain.
The incident caused other bonafide passengers to face inconvenience. The woman passenger was arrested and prosecuted under section 141 of the Railway Act.
Misuse of alarm chain on the passenger trains affects on punctuality and causes operational loss to Railways. To prevent any unexpected situation, every coach of the trains has equipped with alarm chain system.
The alarm chains in the train are meant for the ease of passengers and to be used only during acute emergency involving safety/security during train journey. The use of alarm chain without sufficient and reasonable cause is a punishable offence under section 141 of the Railway Act which may lead to arrest or penalty.