Radheyshyam, divisional railway manager of Sealdah, met readers of The Telegraph at his office last week to answer their queries. Participants included Jitendranath Das, Parvez Akhter, S.H. Khan, Swapan Bharati, Diptimoy Ghosh, Chandan Dey, Aparesh Bhattacharya, Mir Adam Rahim, Md. Imdaduddin, Sandip Banerjee and Smriti Bhattacharjee

Parvez Akhter: Many retired railway employees do not vacate their quarters. As a result, new employees are not able to move into the accommodation allotted to them. Why are you not taking any steps against unauthorised occupation of railway quarters?

We have been trying to persuade the unauthorised people to vacate the quarters. Now, we have started being firm with them and are contemplating whether to stop issuing some of their retirement benefits till they vacate the quarters. Several unauthorised occupants have already vacated the quarters, indicating that the problem can be solved.

Swapan Bharati: Buildings abandoned by the railways become hubs of criminal activities. Railway properties at Baruipur and Sonarpur are used by goons, thus posing a security threat to passengers. Are you taking any steps?

We are aware that criminals take shelter in abandoned railway buildings. The Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force are supposed to keep an eye on the buildings abandoned by the railways. If you notice criminal activities on any railway property, please lodge a complaint with the station master. I will take up the problem with the authorities concerned.

Diptimoy Ghosh: Local train compartments are often quite dirty. Why aren?t they cleaned regularly?

We have appointed people to clean compartments of local trains. We will soon start wet-cleaning the compartments to make them look better. The passengers often throw garbage on the trains without bothering to think of who will clean up. This definitely does not help matters.

Mir Adam Rahim: Do you have plans to instal a double line in the Barasat-Hasnabad route.

The project has been sanctioned and we have received the funds. The installation of the second track has been completed between Barasat and Sandaliya stations. We expect the work to be over by March 2006.

Diptimoy Ghosh: Why aren?t you removing illegal encroachments along railway tracks?

We had recently organised a drive against illegal encroachers at Jadavpur and Ballygunge. Unfortunately, the problem has acquired a political hue. When we go to an area to flush out illegal settlers, we often face resistance, backed by political parties. If we use force, it will lead to untoward incidents.

Mir Adam Rahim: One train on the Sealdah-Hasnabad route arrives in the city around 7 in the morning and another at 9 am. On the return journey, one train leaves Sealdah at 6 pm, followed by the other at 8. We want the 9 am train to reach earlier and the gap reduced between the evening trains.

Passengers always have a complaint about the timings of trains. But we have to adjust the timings in such a way that it ensures smooth passage of trains.

We fix the timings only after considering the schedule of all local trains leaving and arriving at Sealdah.

Moreover, we have to make allowances for the entrance and exit of the express, super express, super-fast and mail trains.

Care is taken to minimise the time gap between two trains that do not ply on the main line. The board which changes train timings does so after taking into consideration several factors.