As a result, the Divisional Railway Manager’s Office is now working towards inviting tenders from pest control agencies to deal with the problem. “The Central Warehousing Corporation already provides pest control services for the coaches and we have managed to curtail the problem in trains,” Divisional Railway Manager Rakesh Saksena said. As for pest control on platforms and other railway premises, “we will soon invite tenders and award the contract after a detailed assessment of the problem.”

Saksena assured that the authorities would have a “detailed action plan within the next three months”.

Perhaps nowhere is the menace more evident than in the cloakroom on platform number 1, where passengers can leave their luggage for up to 30 days at a cost of Rs 10 per day. Most, though, come back to find their bags and bedrolls have been gnawed away by rats. “I left my bag for a day, and this is what I find,” said Satish Mane from Mumbai, pointing to his handbag that looked like it had been chewed at with a vengeance.

Nearly 2,500 people visit the cloakroom on an average day, and most of them leave luggage for at least 24 hours. “This problem (with rats) began a year or so ago but is slowly increasing,” a railway official said. “If you just take a walk round the cloakroom you will see hundreds of rats.”

Though passengers register their complaints at the manager’s office, an official there said, “All we can do is apologise. At present there is no system to compensate. Most passengers are aware of the problem — we have put up warning signs.”

The handwritten signs in the cloakroom do warn passengers of “big rats”, and they are advised not to leave luggage on the floor. Yet, the rats are quite adept at getting to even upper reaches of these stands.