Golfcarts at Kalupur rly station

Though the elderly and the physically challenged stand to benefit, there is not enough space for the vehicle to move smoothly from platform 1 to platform 6

By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, April 28, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2010042820100428020121223353f4b22)

With golfcarts all set to be introduced at Ahmedabad railway station, the elderly, the ailing and the physically challenged passengers will get a free ride from platform 1 to their designated train compartments.

The vehicle is battery-operated and therefore environment friendly.

It will ferry passengers between platform 1 and platform 6. While passengers stand to benefit from the implementation of this scheme being made mandatory by the railway board for major railway station across the country, the Ahmedabad division looks ill-prepared to initiate it.

With lakhs of people visiting the station everyday, the platforms may find it difficult to accommodate the four-seater carts. Another issue is that the space near the elevator is not enough for the cart to get through. That is a major problem. Passengers in the golfcart will be taken from platform 1 to other platforms using the elevators. But when there isn’t enough space near the elevator, there is no way the golfcart can be wheeled into it, said an official.

The golfcarts will be operated in three shifts in a public-private partnership. There will be three drivers and three supervisors.

Senior divisional commercial manager Udayshankar Jha said: “Right now we have one golf-cart. We’ll introduce the services in eight to 10 days.”