Hyderabad man fined ₹6,000 for using Vande Bharat Express toilet

A man from Hyderabad ended up losing ₹6,000 for using the Vande Bharat Express toilet at Bhopal's Rani Kamalapati station, the report said.

Abdul Qadir, a native of Hyderabad, was on his way to Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh with his wife and eight-year-old son. They reached Bhopal and were about to board the train to Singrauli. Qadir was on the platform when he felt the urge to urinate, but could not find any toilets nearby. He boarded the Vande Bharat train bound for Indore which had just stopped at the station to use its washroom.

However, when he came out of the train toilet, he found that the train doors were locked and the train started moving from the platform. Worried, Qadir tried to get help from police officers and three ticket collectors stationed in different coaches, but they all told him that only the driver could open the door. However, he was stopped when he tried to approach the driver.

As a result of boarding the train without a valid ticket, Qadir had to pay a fine of ₹1,020. When the train reached Ujjain, he paid an additional ₹750 for a bus ticket to Bhopal to reach his stranded family.

Meanwhile, his family decided to miss the Dakshin Express bound for Singrauli and were worried about him. They did not use the ₹4,000 worth of tickets they had booked for the trip, resulting in Abdul losing nearly ₹6,000 for using the Vande Bharat toilet, the report added.

Qadir, however, claimed that his family had to go through an ordeal due to the absence of an emergency system in half-speed trains and believes that the incident highlighted the shortcomings in the train's emergency system.

Responding to the allegation, Subedar Singh, PRO, Bhopal Railway Division, said that before the Vande Bharat train started running, an announcement was made to indicate which way the doors would open and that the doors would be locked. These safety measures are taken in the train to avoid accidents and ensure the well-being of the passengers.

Singh further said that the Vande Bharat train can be stopped only after receiving orders from higher authorities, the report added.