Motorman-passenger row delays EMU trains

Chennai: It is time Southern Railway (SR) taught a lesson in civility to a few of its EMU operators (motormen). What should have been a motorman’s brief conversation with a passenger snowballed in to exchange of blows at Tambaram, resulting in disruption of EMU train services for over 30 minutes on Saturday. Charles, motorman of Chengalpet-Beach fast local passenger, had allegedly roughly up a passenger Vijay Srinivasan (50) of Chromepet, on platform 6 in Tambaram station.

It all started around 8.10am when Srinivasan, who arrived at Tambaram by Ananthapuri Express from Thiruvananthapuram, asked Charles if the EMU he was piloting would stop at Chromepet. Despite Charles replying in the negative and advising him to approach the stationmaster for further inquiries, an unrelenting Srinivasan kept quizzing the motorman on “why this train will skip Chromepet while  others stopped there?”

At one point in time, an annoyed Charles is said to have lost his cool, alighted the cabin and allegedly landed a blow on Srinivasan’s face. Fellow travellers who witnessed the incident surrounded the motorman and engaged in a heated argument, while railway staff on the platform came to Charles’ defence. A few angry travellers who were witnessing the incident protested against the motorman’s alleged rude behaviour and blocked the train. Railway and RPF officials who arrived there calmed the passengers and the train left Tambaram at 8.45 am.

Other Beach bound trains starting from Tambaram were stranded on platforms 1 and 2 as the operation department had cleared the signal for the detained fast local passenger unaware of the squabble on platform six. Both the assailant and the attacked filed complaints.