Nearly 3,500 deaths annually in Mumbai suburban railways
22 Jan, 2015Reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that a total of 35,216 accidental deaths in the Mumbai suburban railways between 2002 and August 2011 including 23,299 deaths attributed to those which happened while crossing the tracks. The reply received by Samir Zaveri, who lost his legs in a train accident, further shows that the number of persons killed while crossing the tracks has increased from 1,826 in 2013 to 1,912 in 2014.Some of the common examples of accidental deaths include falling in gaps between railway stations, fall from the running trains, hitting railway poles and electrocution while travelling atop local trains.
The loss of nearly 3,500 lives annually to railway accidents in Mumbai alone points to the gravity of the problem. The all India figures of the calamity may be difficult to find which would put the enormity of the problem in the right perspective. Loss of such a large number of lives to accidents indicates a poor planning and lack of concern on the part of the railways. Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) Ltd. has started implementing trespass control in 12 stations at a cost of Rs 180 crores by constructing FOBs, escalators, elevators, among others which is likely to end in December 2016. The work is said to have been initiated due to judicial intervention.