12 hours ago
Chaos express: At Chandigarh railway station, traffic, crowd control a train wreck
On a sweltering June afternoon, 63-year-old Kanwaljeet Singh tightly gripped his wife's hand as the couple made their way to the Chandigarh railway station. Their auto-rickshaw had dropped them nearly 100 metres away from the entrance to avoid paying the pick-and-drop charges. Panting and puffing, the elderly couple barely made it on time to catch their train to Amritsar. In the absence of personnel to control the traffic movement, and the pick-and-drop charges due to which auto and cab drivers avoid driving up till the entrance, passengers have a harrowing time at the Chandigarh railway station. (Sant Arora/HT)
They were not alone.
Another young family, with small children and three huge bags, also found themselves jostling the crowd, navigating the crumbling pavement and braving through the honking traffic.
The pick-and-drop charges were introduced after the contract of traffic maintenance was awarded to a private operator in 2024.
For personal vehicles, the initial 10 minutes are free, followed by ₹ 50 for over 10 minutes and ₹ 100 for over 30 minutes. Commercial vehicles have to shell out ₹ 30 even for a brief drop. To avoid paying it, commercial vehicle operators refuse to take passengers up to the entrance. 'We are given a slip at the entrance and have to pay at exit but the whole system is so poorly managed that it only increases the traffic chaos,' said Babu Khan, an auto driver who operates near the station.
Even the few vehicles that go inside are allowed only up till a certain point, unlike VIP vehicles that are allowed right up to the entrance.
'But the question is why do passengers have to pay extra for minimal things like pick and drop,' asked Kanwaljit.
Basic infrastructure missing
It's been two years since the ambitious ₹ 511.12 crore redevelopment project, under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, to turn Chandigarh Railway Station into a world-class facility started. But the station still lacks basic facilities such as escalators, fans and water coolers.
Ram Lal Chhangaji, 55, a passenger from Bikaner, Rajasthan, said, 'I have a knee injury due to which I have difficulty in walking. The absence of wheelchairs, ramps and lifts make it difficult for people like me. Is this what a world-class facility looks like?'
Currently, the station sees the movement of 82 trains and over 37,000 passengers on a daily basis across its six platforms. Alarmingly, even during peak rush hours, when Vande Bharat and other trains arrive and depart, there are barely any personnel to manage the swelling crowd.
When contacted, senior divisional commercial manager Naveen said, 'People pay for parking at the airport as well. So why not at the railway station? For dropping passengers within 10 minutes there are no charges. For the redevelopment work, we are taking all the safety and precautionary measures and we expect it to be complete by October, 2025.'
