BANGALORE: The City Railway Station is often associated with large crowds, characteristic sound of the trains and porters with the luggage on their heads. A few months ago, the scene saw a change when luggage trolleys were introduced at the station. Everyone welcomed the move and termed it is as ‘progressive’.But now, several problems have crept up in the system. Most of the trolleys lay idle due to the uneven surface on platforms and proper connectivity. The trolleys work only in the case of the two platforms which lay on either side of the entrance to the railway station. They cannot be moved across the stairs.The main objective of introducing trolleys was to minimise the damage to luggage and enhance the dignity of porters who carry the luggage on their heads. But the whole point is lost as hauling the bags and cases across the steps can be a tedious task. The initiative was taken by the Faiveley Transport Group. The group came forward and provided 35 trolleys for the porters as part of their corporate social responsibility.‘‘How do we use these trolleys when facilities are not in place?’’, asserted H Eraiah, General Secretary, South Western Railways Licensed Porters’ Association. The railway authorities say that several underpasses and over-bridges have access to the remaining platforms in order to make them accessible.There are 334 porters at the City Railway Station and most of them prefer to carry the luggage in the traditional way by keeping it on their heads. Their porters complain that carrying the luggage on these trolleys take more time to reach platform numbers 5, 6, 7 and 8 from the entrance. “They have provided trolleys stating that the initiative will enhance our dignity. They have forgotten to provide a ramp facility to take the trolleys at the entrance of over-bridges. We cannot carry the trolleys on our heads while using staircase of the over-bridges,” remarked Saleem, president of the Association.While it was a thoughtful move, the infrastructure of the railway station should have been taken into consideration, the porters say. The railway station has five lifts. When City Express inspected the site, one of the lifts were dysfunctional. Porters say that it has been so for a while.While the porters wait for the railway officials to look for solutions for these issues, it is left to be seen whether the porters will continue their usual method of lugging baggage on their heads or will soon be seen pushing trolleys.
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