‘Alarming situation’, says HC on 10 deaths per day in Mumbai local train system; suggests use of automatic doors
Terming the Mumbra train accident – in which five commuters lost their lives – "unfortunate", the Bombay High Court stated that the safety measures taken so far have been insufficient.
Expressing deep concern over the “alarming and disturbing situation” of fatalities on Mumbai’s suburban railway system, with nearly 10 deaths occurring daily, the Bombay High Court Friday suggested that the railways consider installing automatically closing doors on local trains to prevent commuters from falling off.
The court said that the “unfortunate” Mumbra train accident reported earlier this month, in which five commuters lost their lives after falling off overcrowded trains, should not have happened. It pointed out that as per an earlier response by the railways, nearly 3,588 deaths took place on the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) suburban systems in 2024, and said that measures taken so far are insufficient.
The high court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by one Yatin Jadhav, a daily commuter who raised concerns over the high rate of fatalities in the second busiest suburban railway system in the world and sought the formation of an expert panel to recommend measures to eliminate deaths due to untoward incidents.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the Centre, informed the division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V Marne that the railways have a high-level monitoring committee which has a “zero death mission” in place, and a multi-disciplinary committee headed by a senior divisional safety officer has now been formed to examine what led to the accident in Mumbai.
The court then directed the concerned committees to consider the suggestions by the petitioner, represented by senior advocate Rohan Shah and advocate Surabhi Prabhudesai, and place their recommendations on record within three weeks, along with the timelines within which such measures can be implemented.
“What disturbs us is that in 2024, 3,588 deaths took place on CR and WR, which averages to 10 deaths per day. So every day, 10 Mumbaikars die while travelling on the train. And these numbers of deaths are due to falling down from a train, (being) hit by a pole or (due to) gap between the footboards and the platform. This is an alarming situation. This is your data. Though you (railways) have projected that there is a reduction of deaths by 46 per cent compared to 2009, it is still not sufficient,” Justice Marne remarked orally.
CJ Aradhe added, “This (Mumbra incident) should not have happened. But, obviously, these measures which you (railways) have taken are not sufficient… The local train (doors) should not be open so that there is no scope for overcrowding. You should provide automatic doors which close. Why can’t you do that to achieve your goal? This is one of the suggestions as a layperson. We are not experts in rail safety, but probably this may be one of the major suggestions of the committee.”
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In August last year, the railways informed the high court that over 45,000 lives were lost in the suburban railway system in over 15 years.
ASG Singh submitted that railway authorities were taking steps under its “zero death mission”, including construction of boundary walls and fencing walls near the tracks, along with partitions between tracks to avoid trespassing and crossing, besides removing some stalls on platforms which become overcrowded, and said the authorities will continue to take further steps.
He further submitted that while the authorities are taking steps to improve the system, there are constraints as they can construct such walls or fences only during late-night hours as trains cannot be halted, else the entire city will come to a standstill.
Singh added that the multidisciplinary committee examining the causes of the Mumbra incident shall soon suggest remedial measures, which will be produced before the court along with timelines to implement them.
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Seeking a response from the railway committees, the high court posted further hearing for July 14.
Omkar Gokhale is a journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Mumbai. His work demonstrates exceptionally strong Expertise and Authority in legal and judicial reporting, making him a highly Trustworthy source for developments concerning the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court in relation to Maharashtra and its key institutions.
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