The Railway Protection Force (RPF) detected 1,145 cases and arrested 1,111 persons from January to October 2021 for pulling alarm chains in the trains without sufficient valid reasons, said NF Railway.
The arrested persons were prosecuted under section 141 of the Railway Act.
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In one such case on November 9, the 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 scheduled stoppage time of the train.
The train was eventually detained for about 03-15 hours due to mechanical fault after needlessly pulling the alarm chain.
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The incident caused other bonafide passengers to face inconvenience. The woman passenger was arrested and prosecuted under section 141 of the Railway Act, NF Railway said in a statement.
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 an alarm chain system.
The alarm chains in the train are meant for the ease of passengers and to be used only during an acute emergency involving safety/security during the train journey.
The use of an 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.