Mumbai: 1,900 People Lost Their Lives In Derailment; Negligence Of Passengers, Failure Of Railways In Planning

Mumbai, 24th October 2022: “Crossing the tracks can be dangerous”, and “Crossing the tracks is a crime under the law”, announcements are often made by the railways at the stations.

But the passengers ignore it and lose their lives when they get hit by local or mail express while trying to cross the track. Since 2021, 1 thousand 962 passengers have lost their lives in such accidents, while 324 people have been injured, according to the Loh Marg Police. It has been revealed that not only the negligence of railway passengers is responsible for these accidents, but also the failure of the railway security forces and the railway administration to take measures to prevent the passengers from crossing the tracks.

Various measures are taken by Mumbai Railway Development Corporation, and Central and Western Railways to avoid accidents while crossing tracks. It has been observed that the number of track crossings within a station as well as between two stations is high. Therefore, measures are taken to find such stations and put a fence between the two tracks, build a protective wall on the side of the tracks and build a new footbridge. Action is taken against the passengers who cross the tracks through the Railway Security Force. But actions and measures are proving to be insufficient. Passengers are also carelessly crossing the line risking their lives.

According to the Lohmarg Police, a total of 1,963 people died in 2021 and 2022 when local and mail express collided while crossing the tracks. While in 2021, one thousand 114 people died and 176 people were injured. In 2022, 848 people died and 148 people were injured. In 2022, the total number of deaths while crossing the tracks was recorded in the Borivali railway area with 101 deaths and 107 deaths in the Thane railway area. After that there were many accidents in Kalyan, Kurla, Palghar, and Andheri Lohmarg police limits as well, officials said. Among those crossing the border, the proportion of men is more and 759 people have died.

To prevent track crossing accidents, the Mumbai Railway Development Corporation (‘MRVC’) has decided to construct 17 footbridges at 15 suburban stations on the Central and Western Suburban lines. These bridges will be constructed by August 2023. 13 of these bridges will be constructed on the Central Railway, while the remaining four bridges will be constructed on the Western Railway. Various measures are being taken by MRVC, and Central and Western Railways to prevent these accidents.