At least five commuters, including a GRP constable, died and several others were injured after falling off a moving and overcrowded local train in Maharashtra’s Thane district during the office rush hour on Monday morning.
A Thane railway police station official said that the mishap at Mumbra railway station occurred as the passengers standing on the footboard of two suburban trains brushed against each other, causing 13 passengers to fall, news agency PTI reported.
The incident took place at kilometre marker 40/304 to 306 (signifying distance of 40 kilometres from Central Railway headquarters Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) at 9:01 am between platforms number three and four of Mumbra station, a statement from Thane railway police station said.
“The trains involved were the CSMT-Karjat Down Fast local and the Kasara-CSMT Up Fast local. As the two trains passed each other at high speed, passengers hanging out of the coaches on footboards collided, causing thirteen of them to fall onto the tracks and nearby areas,” the statement said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the railway administration was probing the cause of the accident. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde expressed sorrow over the incident and assured that all necessary steps were being taken to support the victims and their families. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said that the incident highlights the need to pay serious attention to overcrowding and passenger safety in the suburban railway system.
Railways Say All Local Trains In Mumbai To Have Automatic Door Closure
The Railway Ministry has decided to have automatic door closing facilities in coaches of all existing and new local trains for Mumbai Suburban, a senior official said.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, said that after the tragedy in Maharashtra, the Ministry has decided to have automatic door closure facilities in all local trains under manufacturing for Mumbai Suburban.
“Besides, all rakes in service at present will be redesigned and the door closure facility will be provided in these rakes of Mumbai Suburban,” Kumar added.
In the wake of the sad incident today in Mumbai, the Railway Minister and Railway Board officials had a detailed meeting with the ICF (Integral Coach Factory) team.
After detailed discussions, it was decided that new non AC trains will be designed and manufactured where the key issue of ventilation will be resolved using three design changes.
Firstly, the doors will have louvres. Secondly, coaches will have roof mounted ventilation units to pump in fresh air. And thirdly, the coaches will have vestibules so that passengers can move from one coach to another and balance out the crowd in a natural way.
“The first train of this new design will be ready by November 2025. After necessary tests and certification, it will be put into service by January 2026,” the Railways said, according to ANI.
Officials stressed that safety is Railway’s top priority and all efforts are being taken to prevent such mishappenings from recurring.
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