Mumbai:
The flash strike by over 100 motormen on Mumbai's Western Railway line, which disrupted suburban services during rush hour today and inconvenienced lakhs of commuters, has been called off. "The services will resume in 30 minutes," said Sharat Chandrayan, Chief Public Relation Officer of Western Railways.
The striking motormen went on a mass sick leave to press for better facilities and security. The motormen had demanded the appointment of assistant motormen so that they do not have to work overtime. Authorities have promised the motormen that their demands will be studied.
However, sources in the Western Railways told NDTV that the motormen were being given enough rest and the real reason for the strike was their unhappiness over three motormen slated to become instructors after passing an exam. These three motormen belong to the group of 12 motormen who had run trains during the 2010 motormen strike. The motormen who did not report to work today said these three motormen, once promoted, would work against their interests.
The strike had been orchestrated to cause maximum inconvenience. The main suburban railway station of Churchgate in south Mumbai saw unprecedented crowds as people started gathering, owing to lack of train services - which usually run one every five minutes. With trains stalled, there were huge traffic jams on the road.
(Pics)The strike started only a couple of hours before the peak travelling time that starts around 5 p.m. as commuters start for home after work hours.
Most local railway stations, however, were alerting commuters with announcements on public address system that the trains are either running late or have been cancelled.