Station name change leads to 100% fare difference on locals

MUMBAI: Although Prabhadevi on Western Railway (WR) and Parel on Central Railway (CR) are equidistant from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), there is a ₹5 to ₹10-rupee difference in the fares of journeys from the two stations.

While WR has been charging ₹10 and ₹20 for single and return journeys respectively from Prabhdevi to CSMT, the same journey from Parel costs ₹5 and ₹10, for single and return journeys respectively. This has invited the irk of commuters who claim this problem started since Railways changed the Elphinstone Road station’s name to Prabhadevi on July 18. “It is difficult to understand the logic for charging different fares. Is WR trying to recover the cost of building new foot overbridge from passengers?,” said Sunil Shinde, a teacher.

WR officials also said the issue has risen after they changed the station name to Prabhadevi, because of which the station code changed. “Since the revision of station code, the system is not accepting the commands for tickets via Parel. Hence, the tickets are issued via Dadar for CSMT and cost higher,”said Ravinder Bhakar, chief spokesperson of

WR. Railway staff have also faced the wrath of commuters when they argue about the different fares. Railway officials at booking counters generally ask commuters to buy a ticket from the CR ticket windows on Parel side. Commuters, however, said they cannot go to the east side easily as they have to take the Elphinstone Road rail overbridge (ROB). “Going via the common foot overbridge (FOB) between the two stations is risky as ticket checkers could catch us. The only other option is to buy platform ticket, which is expensive,” said Prakash Dhuri, a Lalbaug resident.

Another senior official said they have already forwarded the proposal to the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) and WR headquarter for corrections. “It is expected to be changed soon,” said the officer.