Railways plans a reserve compartment for senior citizens in Mumbai local

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Mumbai may also get a reserved compartment in Mumbai local. In response to a public interest litigation filed in 2022, Indian Railways reportedly said that it is considering the reservation of one luggage compartment specifically for senior citizens in local trains. As per ToI, the PIL highlighted that approximately 50,000 elderly commuters travel daily on suburban trains in Mumbai, facing difficulties in finding seats, as the limited 14 seats dedicated to seniors in the second class are often occupied by younger passengers during peak hours.

Recently, the railways filed an affidavit in the Bombay High Court proposing the transformation and reservation of one luggage compartment for senior citizens. A survey conducted earlier revealed that nearly 90 per cent travelers in these compartments belong to the general category, while those carrying goods constitute only the remaining 10 per cent. Therefore, setting aside one of the four vendor compartments for senior citizens will not pose an issue for those holding vendor tickets.

The analysis of train area utilization and passenger load distribution showed that luggage compartments occupy only 6.18 per cent of the area but carry a mere 0.32 per cent of the passenger load. On the other hand, general class compartments, occupying 71 per cent of the train area, carry 90 per cent of the passengers. Considering this data, an official told ToI that the general class compartments are already overcrowded, leaving little room for improvement.