MP: Man trapped on Vande Bharat train after toilet break enjoys a costly ride

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Bhopal to Singrauli via the Dakshin Express with a train change in the middle. As he and his family waited on the platform for the next train, the man decided to hop on to a Vande Bharat train for a toilet break and it proved to be quite the expensive adventure for the poor man. The family, hailing from Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, had arrived in Bhopal from Hyderabad aboard the Dakshin Express at approximately 5:30 pm.

Their next leg of the journey involved catching the Indore-bound Vande Bharat train, which was stationed on platform number 4. Unbeknownst to the man, he had limited time before the train's departure. Spotting the modern and attractive Vande Bharat train, he decided to take a quick restroom break while his family waited.

Unfortunately, he failed to realize that the train had a mere 60 seconds before it would set off. At 7:25 pm, the automatic doors closed, and the train began its journey to Indore, leaving the man trapped inside, desperately pleading for the train to halt. Upon arriving at Ujjain, the man had to pay a fine of Rs 1,020 for this inadvertent adventure.

To make matters worse, he had to purchase a Rs 700 ticket to return to Bhopal and also lost Rs 4,000 worth of tickets he had bought for his family's journey to Singrauli. Realizing his predicament, he rushed to the exits, but they were securely shut. The train staff informed him that the doors would remain closed until the next stop at Ujjain, which was scheduled for 9:30 pm.

Helpless and bewildered, he could only wait until the train reached Ujjain. Travelers are accustomed to manual gates or no gates at all in Indian railways and are taking time to adapt to the automatic locks featured on the Vande Bharat trains. At Bhopal railway division,