A viral video of ticketless passengers ‘hijacking’ the 2nd AC coach of a train has raised serious concerns about the safety and comfort of passengers even in AC compartments. The video shared on micro-blogging site ‘X’ shows chaotic scenes in the train.
The video shows ticketless passengers causing disruptions inside the AC compartment and taking up space meant for legitimate travelers. The situation is so worse that a passenger cannot even walk up to the toilet.
Legitimate passengers had to battle their way through the ticketless travelers to get off at their destinations. Not just this, several such instances of sleeper and AC compartments being illegally crowded by ticketless passengers have come to fore recently.
The overcrowded scenes in trains not only highlight the severity of the issue, but have sparked outrage on social media. While netizens emphasised the need for bullet train and more Vande Bharat trains to end the crisis, others opined that the Indian Railways and government should focus on creating more general bogies for the poor.
“We taxpayers are helpless in India. We work 12-14 hours a day, earn, give back 33% direct tax, 3% surcharge, 18% GST and other taxes and left with < 40% of what we hard earn, and get subpar public education, administrative systems, medical systems, social security, etc.,” commented a netizen.
Another netizens shared, “One can imagine if 2nd AC coach is in such a condition then what would be the situation in 3rd AC/ Sleeper Coaches. Why Govt. don't take any action to prevent to enter unauthorised persons to enter in the reserved coach. Why no action plan is undertaken by the Rail Ministry???”
“I don't think anyone is bothered. See so many videos these days. All the system is worried about are the Bullet trains and Vande Bharats!! India is still a developing country. Where is the stuff for the masses??” commented a third user.
Another user commented, “It's about time all railway coaches get air conditioning and increase train capacity, frequency, and routes based on AI analytics to adapt to passenger demand. Passenger comfort is being overlooked, leaving travelers unable to travel peacefully.”
“If the government doesn’t do something fast like growth in infrastructure, affordable living, reverse migration, empowering lower middle class, sufficient work generation India will sink under its own population weight,” commented another user.