Ashwini Vaishnaw interacted with passengers at the station.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw paid a sudden visit to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Thursday and interacted with passengers and personnel, officials said.
The union minister, who is in Mumbai as the BJP's observer for the Rajya Sabha election, spent more than an hour inspecting the station premises, keeping railway officials on their toes in the afternoon.
According to railway officials, it was the minister's maiden visit to the heritage building and the premises.
Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the CSMT building portico, the grand staircase, central dome and star chamber, where he was informed about the conservation and renovation work of the structure.
"We will try to retain the heritage elements as much as possible. We will also focus on providing passenger amenities after the redevelopment of CSMT," the minister told reporters.
He further assured that Mumbai will get better air-conditioned local trains in the future.
Ashwini Vaishnaw interacted with passengers and asked them about cleanliness at suburban railway stations, comfort and security during train travel and other issues they faced, officials said.
The railway minister also spoke to the housekeeping staff and train sahayaks about their work, and inspected the "One Station One Product" stall, public toilets, and signage.
Ashwini Vaishnaw also spent 15 minutes at the suburban motorman and guard lobby, understanding their concerns about the operation of suburban trains, signals and other related aspects.
A motorman, who did not wish to be named, said they had requested the minister to change the existing rules about signal passing at danger (SPAD), for which they face penalty and urged him to consider it as signal overshooting, if there was no derailment or train collision.
"We have requested the minister to shift AWS (auxiliary warning system), a warning system inside suburban trains to prevent accidents magnets installed in tracks, by around 50 meters to prevent SPAD cases," the motorman said.
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