Western Railway Imposes Luggage Limits, Urges Caution to Avoid Station Crowding

Mumbai: In the wake of a recent stampede at Mumbai's Bandra Terminus, the Western Railway has announced that penalties will be imposed on passengers carrying luggage beyond the permissible limit for their travel class. Authorities have also urged the public to avoid overcrowding at stations.

Issuing a release, the Western Railway said that each passenger is allowed to carry a certain amount of luggage free of charge. However, items like scooters, bicycles, and consignments larger than 100 cm x 100 cm x 70 cm do not fall within this free allowance.

"Western Railway urges all passengers to avoid overcrowding at stations and to enter premises only as necessary, in accordance with train schedules, while adhering to the established luggage limits," the release stated.

The step has been taken to reduce congestion on platforms and facilitate smoother movement for passengers within the station premises, it said.

The Western Railway has appealed to all passengers to follow the rules pertaining to carrying the maximum limit of free luggage. "The free allowance varies for different classes of travel. If the luggage exceeds the marginal free allowance, a penalty will be charged accordingly," the release said, adding the directive comes into effect immediately and will remain in force till November 8.

A significant rise has been witnessed in parcel bookings during the festive season, particularly at the parcel offices of the Bandra Terminus, Vapi, Valsad, Udhna and Surat, it said.

The WR further noted that the volume of parcels kept stacked on platforms for loading in trains causes inconvenience in passenger movement.

Considering the safety and security of passengers, instructions have been issued not to stack the parcel consignments on platforms for a long duration before the scheduled departure of a train, the release said.

Earlier on Sunday, 10 persons were injured in a stampede during a heavy rush to board the Gorakhpur-bound Antyodaya Express train at the Bandra Terminus in Mumbai.

The Western Railway has already implemented temporary restrictions on the sale of platform tickets at select major stations, effective till November 8.