Rail commuters from Ambernath on Tuesday morning staged a protest on the tracks, after they were not allowed to illegally board local trains in the yard. This is the second such protest in the past one year with the earlier one reported at Kalwa. The train to CSMT was delayed by 10 minutes due to the protest. Central Railway is firm on its stand of not allowing boarding in the yard.

“The Ambernath-CSMT local comes to the platform from the yard rail siding since this is the originating station. Many commuters board the train in the siding itself, before it arrives onto the platform. This is sheer bullying. It leads to problems for others as the train is partially full by the time it arrives at the platform. Many senior citizens and ladies are denied seats despite it being the originating station,” a commuter said.  On Monday, following complaints from other commuters, CR stopped some commuters from boarding the train in the rail yard siding, leading to the problem. “Boarding the train in siding or yards is unsafe and hence not permitted. Passengers are kindly requested to board the train at platforms only to ensure safety,” a CR official said.