Western Railway to deploy pushers at Andheri station to curb AC local train delays
Western Railway is set to deploy trained staff, known as 'pushers,' at high-footfall suburban stations including Andheri to assist commuters boarding and alighting from overcrowded air-conditioned (AC) local trains during peak hours. The crowd-management initiative aims to reduce train halt times and prevent delays that currently impact millions of passengers.
According to railway officials, AC local trains have emerged as a primary cause of delays across the suburban network. Because these trains feature automatic doors and limited entry and exit points, passengers take longer to board and alight during peak hours. This extends the halt times at stations, which subsequently disrupts the schedules of following services.
The punctuality of the network has faced significant strain. Out of 1,414 suburban services operated by Western Railway on a recent Tuesday, 1,135 services were delayed by five minutes or more. Nearly 60 of those services recorded delays ranging between 10 and 30 minutes. Railway officials state that these disruptions affect the daily travel schedules of approximately three million commuters.
The overcrowding in AC coaches has been worsened by a surge in ticketless travel. Western Railway detected 18,305 cases of ticketless travel in AC locals during May, representing a 323 percent increase compared to the same month last year. This is the highest number of ticketless travel cases recorded since the introduction of AC suburban services.
Commuters report that the high volume of passengers makes boarding nearly impossible at key junctions. Rajesh Sharma, a daily commuter who travels from Mira Road to Churchgate, stated that AC trains are now as packed as regular locals. He noted that passengers struggle to enter and exit at stations such as Andheri, Borivali, and Dadar, leaving doors open longer than scheduled and making delays routine.
While both Western and Central Railways plan to gradually transition from regular locals to AC trains, Western Railway officials confirmed there are currently no plans to increase the number of AC services during peak hours.
Commuter activist Subhash Gupta expressed that while deploying pushers may help reduce halt times, the railway administration must focus on long-term capacity planning and stricter enforcement against ticketless travel to resolve the issue.
