Every day millions of passengers travel in trains of Indian Railways. But many people are not aware of the necessary rules of the railway. During the journey in the train, you must have seen many times that a passenger suddenly drags the chain and the train stops. Some people do this for joke or comfort, while some in real emergency. But do you know that pulling a train chain without reason is a legal offense and you can get to jail for this?
Indian Railways has provided chain pulling facility keeping in mind the safety and emergency situations of passengers. But a provision of strict punishment has also been made for those who misuse it.
When can the chain pull and how to identify?
The facility of chain pulling by the Railways has been provided only for emergency conditions. If a passenger’s sudden health deteriorates, a child or an elderly person is left at the station or any other danger situation, a chain can be drawn. Under these circumstances, stopping train is considered justified and no action is taken.
As soon as the chain pulling is done, the wisher leak from the valve installed in the coach related to the train comes and the driver of the train immediately gets an alert. After this, the train is stopped and the railway police goes to the coach and checks why the chain was not taken. By moving the valve of the coach, it is immediately found out which compartment has a chain drawn. Many times the chain puller is also identified with the help of CCTV cameras.
What does the Railway Act say and what is the provision of punishment?
Under Section 141 of the Indian Railway Act 1989, drawing a train chain is a punishable offense. According to this law, if a person pulled the chain of the train without any reasonable reason, then legal action can be taken against him.
For this crime, a maximum of 1 year jail or a fine of up to Rs 1000 or both punishment can be given simultaneously. That is, if you pull the chain of the train without reason, then you may also be jail and you may have to face financial loss.
Railways is continuously running awareness campaign to prevent violation of this rule. Especially in areas where the number of such cases is high, additional railway staff is deployed so that the chain pulling people can be caught on the spot and action can be taken immediately.
Do not pull chain in joking or negligence, can become a reason for going to jail
Train chain pulling is part of a serious security system, which should be used only and only in emergency. But many times people pull it out by joking, early or any other personal reason. This not only hinders the railway system, but also inconveniences thousands of passengers.
According to the Railways, once the sudden stop of the train, the time table of other trains also deteriorates and it puts unnecessary pressure on the network. Apart from this, stopping the train for any reason other than emergency can also cause accidents.
So if you travel in Indian Railways trains, then keep this rule in mind. Draw the train chain only when there is a real emergency. Otherwise, you can implicate yourself in the grip of law.
