# Southern Railway penalises loud calls, speakerphone use on trains 2026-10-19T09:18:04+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Southern Railway has directed its divisions to enforce a ban on playing music or videos on speaker mode and making loud phone calls at railway stations and inside trains, with penalties under Section 145(2) of the Railways Act as amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026. Offenders can be removed from railway premises, fined up to Rs 1,000 and forfeit their pass or ticket. If the nuisance continues after an authorised railway servant directs them to stop, the penalty rises to simple imprisonment of up to six months and a fine of up to Rs 5,000. Commercial staff of ticket examiner rank or above can impose the Rs 1,000 penalty. In a letter dated October 16, Southern Railway's headquarters commercial branch cited the widespread availability of mobile internet as a reason for the rise in such behaviour, which it said was adversely affecting the comfort of fellow passengers. Divisions have been asked to make announcements in regional languages, Hindi and English over public address systems and display notices, and to submit an implementation report by Tuesday, October 20. The directive also references a 2012 Railway Board communication that had flagged similar complaints about loud phone conversations particularly in air-conditioned coaches. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three outlets report the same Southern Railway directive identically: passengers who play audio on speakers or make loud calls on trains and stations can be fined Rs 1,000 and removed, with persistent offenders facing up to six months' imprisonment and a Rs 5,000 fine under Section 145(2) of the Railways Act as amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026. Hindustan Times provides the fullest detail, including the full text of the suggested announcement, the 2012 Railway Board letter it references, and the requirement for divisions to submit an implementation report by Tuesday. Free Press Journal frames the story with the headline question ‘Six Months Jail For Loud Phone Calls In Trains?’ and summarises the penalties, while NDTV gives only a brief introductory paragraph with no penalties or legal section. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Provides the fullest detail including full text of announcement and 2012 Railway Board letter - freepressjournal.in (neutral report) Summarises penalties with headline framing the jail term as a question - ndtv.com (neutral report) Only gives a brief introduction, omits penalties and legal sections This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, Railways Act, Southern Railway Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/southern-railway-penalises-loud-calls-speakerphone-use-on-trains/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/southern-railway-penalises-loud-calls-speakerphone-use-on-trains/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/