Indian Railways escalators being brought to screeching halt, turn major headache for all

School children in north Mumbai suburb Kandivli are adding to the woes of Indian Railways commuters by frequently pressing the emergency switch on the escalators installed at the station.

This was revealed by a Railways official said today. "On an average, there are 25 to 30 such incidents daily, where school children press the emergency switch, halting the escalators," an Indian Railways staffer at the Kandivli station said. "We have been facing a barrage of complaints over the abrupt halt of escalators at the station," the official said.

"Most of the instances where the escalators were stopped were not technical, but due to the pressing of the emergency button by an irresponsible passenger, mostly school children," he said. "We have caught some students in the act of pressing the emergency switch, but there is no provision of any punitive action against children," the official said.

Just last week, a ninth class student of a reputed school in Kandivli (East) was apprehended after pressing the emergency switch on the escalator, he said. The student was allowed to go after getting him sign a "confession", apology and a written undertaking that he won't commit the act again, the official said.

Unlike escalators at other stations which are manned by contract staff in shifts, the escalators at Kandivli station is unmanned, he said.