On express trains, no one cares to wear a mask

On express trains, no one cares to wear a mask

Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Chennai:25.11.2021

On Tuesday, most people who boarded the Chennai Egmore-Kollam express removed their masks and kept them in their bags as soon as they settled into their seats just after the train left Chennai Egmore railway station.

It looked like passengers thought that they need not wear a mask once inside the coaches. Ticket checking staff and the RPF keep their masks on but do not reprimand errant passengers, though the state government notifications still stress on masks being mandatory in public.The situation in air conditioned coaches is no different.

As life returns to normal, mask compliance in express trains from Chennai has declined considerably.

More than 70 % to 80% of travellers used to wear masks on express trains till a few weeks ago. This has changed in the last couple of weeks.

“A majority of passengers, including women and children and senior citizens, did not wear masks while travelling in an AC coach of a train that reached Chennai on Kollam. The passengers behaved as if the pandemic was over and talked loudly, coughed, sneezed without wearing masks. The ticket checking staff had his mask near his chin. The RPF personnel who walked by many times did not bother to tell passengers to mask up,” said Prakash Kumar, a passenger.

Travellers also find it inconvenient to wear a mask for more than 10 to 12 hours but do not realise that the train is an enclosed space much smaller than office rooms.

A senior railway official said that the administration is continuously appealing to passengers to follow covid appropriate behaviour. Regular announcements are being made where facilities are available. Both TTE and RPF collect fines from violating passengers.

"The zone has collected ₹1.98 crores as penalty for not wearing masks from 39,822 passengers. On Tuesday, 147 passengers were fined," he added.

A senior railway official said that the administration is continuously appealing to passengers to follow covid appropriate behaviour while travelling by trains