There are not too many things that can get worse at Bengaluru’s Whitefield Railway Station, but on July 25 the whole station went dark. Yes, it is 2019 and the place that is otherwise known as an IT and industrial hub remains neglected to a large extent.
A blackout on Thursday revealed that the station does not have an automatic power backup system, though thousands use it daily. Almost 40 trains stop or terminate at this station. With the suburban rail services set to get bigger, the station will turn into a major transport hub with the Whitefield Bus Station in the vicinity.
“It was a scheduled power shutdown by Bescom. Normally in these cases, backup automatically kicks in, but in Whitefield that type of system is yet to be put in place. We will ensure that in the coming months backup is provided at the station,” E Vijaya, Deputy General Manager, Public Relations of South Western Railways, told TNM.
But it is not only the power-related issue that causes problems to commuters who use the station regularly. Even the sheds in the platforms have holes in them and hence are of no use during heavy rain.
It was earlier reported how the station lacks even a proper access from all sides. At present there is only one entrance at the north side even though a majority of the commuters come in through the south. These commuters make their way through a broken rail compound wall and walk over the tracks or even crawl under goods trains.
This poses a grave safety risk as other than the trains that stop at the station, many trains pass through on a regular basis, often at high speeds.
Sandeep Anirudhan, a Whitefield resident, said, “It’s not just about the blackout, the station is always underlit even though a lot of passengers use it on a daily basis. And with infrastructural work going on in multiple sides, it’s messier than what it used to be. Plus, there are no other facilities. Even the ticket counter is in one corner.”