Terror strike on 26/11 could not damage the Automatic Ticket Vending Machine (ATVM) at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), but the commuters’ wrath on ATVMs has cost the railways dearly, said railway officials.

According to the railway officials, they have received 34 complaints alleging that many ATVMs— 20 machines in the Western Railway (WR) and 14 in the Central Railway (CR)— were damaged by angry commuters and miscreants. Two weeks ago, the railway authorities received yet another complaint that a commuter damaged a ATVM screen with a sharp weapon at Mumbra station. A few months ago, commuters vandalised five ATVM machines at Nalasopara station too and the damaged machine was in such a condition that it couldn’t be repaired, said railway officials.

“Each machine costs around Rs 1.75 lakh. The screen of the machine costs around Rs 30,000 which is a huge amount,” said a senior railway official. “The commuters are supposed to touch the screen while using the machines, instead they bang on the touchscreen. This not only reduces the efficiency of the machines, but also damages them in a long run. For this, both the Central Railway and Western Railway need to educate people on how to use the machines,” said the railway official.

Both the Central and Western Railways have been publishing advertisements in the media to create an awareness among passengers on how to use these ATVMs, but this is not adequate, said officials.

“We have been organising campaigns and educate the public on how to use these machines. This really helps popularise the use of ATVMs. Moreover, we have been also asking people to use the machines carefully through our campaigns and SMSes for a long time,” said S S Gupta, chief spokesperson for the Western Railway.

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