ALARM CHAIN PULLING WITHOUT REASON : WHERE ACTION BY AN IRRESPONSIBLE PERSON CAUSES DETENTION

Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) is a vice in disguise. It has been seen that in most of the cases alarm chain have been pulled without a valid reason. For example, someone pulling chain as their relatives had not yet arrived at the station or some passenger intending to deboard from the train at a station where there is no scheduled stoppage of the train. This irresponsible behaviour of few persons bring suffering for the many.

If we take a look of the punctuality position of Mail/Express trains on 10.03.2025, it would reveal that 5 long-distance trains viz 13121 Up Kolkata Ghazipur City Weekly Express, 13181 Up Kaziranga Express, 13005 Up Howrah ? Amritsar Mail, 13185 Up Gangasagar Express and 13287 Up South Bihar Express have been detained due to alarm chain pulling in Eastern Railway network.

RPF and on-duty train escort staff are always alert to detect such alarm chain pulling and apprehend the offenders who are doing this act without valid reason. This year from 01.01.2025 to 10.03.2025, a total of 872 cases of alarm chain pulling have been registered by RPF/Eastern Railway with corresponding apprehension of 803 persons. Among these 281 cases are registered in Howrah division, 48 cases in Sealdah division, 276 cases in Asansol division and 267 cases of ACP have been registered in Malda division. This indicates the extent of cases of alarm chain pulling causing delay in train services which in term leads to embarrassment for the passengers onboard.

There may be some passengers who have important assignment or work like joining a new job or appearing in an examination which may foil due to unwanted situation of delay in train services due to the alarm chain pulling. Passengers are requested to extend their cooperation to control such menace and resist any person who are indulging in such act of irresponsible behaviour.

Eastern Railway is committed to ensuring smooth train operations and preventing unnecessary delays caused by unwarranted ACP incidents. Passengers are urged to use the ACP mechanism responsibly and only in genuine emergencies. Misuse of this facility not only delays train operations but also hinders the timely transportation of goods and passengers.