In a disturbing mishap, four commuters were killed and nine others injured when they fell down from two overcrowded suburban trains between Mumbra and Diva stations of the Central Railway in the Thane district during the morning peak hour traffic on Monday.
Though the commuters falling off from a speeding suburban train is a common occurrence, this is for the first time that commuters with bags and backpacks travelling on the footboards of two overcrowded trains running on parallel lines brushed against one another and fell down on the tracks.
The tragic incident took place between 9 am and 9.15 am when two local trains were running in opposite directions. Around this, trains are jam-packed during the morning hours when the commuters travel hanging precariously onto the open doors.
This mishap involving the death of four commuters and injuries to nine others has turned the spotlight onto the contentious issue of safety of suburban commuters travelling by the suburban trains on the Western Railway and main and harbour lines of the Central Railway. The suburban trains carry a staggering eight million commuters every day.
Giving details of the mishap, Central Railway spokesperson Swapnil Nila said: “In all, 13 passengers fell off from two running suburban trains between Mumbra and Diva stations. The commuters were travelling on the footboards of two running trains on parallel tracks. Some of them had bags and backpacks. They fell down from the trains when they brushed against one another. The incident took place along a sharp curve near the Mumbra station on Line 3 and Line 4, which are the fast tracks. Generally, the distance between the parallel tracks is around one-and-a-half to two metres.
Dr. Rakesh Barot, Dean of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital at Kalwa, four commuters were declared dead on admission to the hospital, while nine other injured commuters —7 men and 2 women — were admitted. “Of them, two of the critically injured patients were shifted to Jupiter Hospital at Thane as they required immediate brain-related surgeries,” Dr Barot said.
The four deceased commuters were identified as Rahul Gupta (23), Ketan Saroj (23), Mayur Shah (50) and Vicky Mukhyadal (34), a constable to the Government Reserve Police (GRP).
While seven of the injured persons — Aadesh Bhoir (26), Rehan Shaikh (26), Tushar Bhagat (22), Manish Saroj (26), Machhindra Gotarne (39), Sneha Dhonde (21) and Priyanka Bhatia (26) have been admitted to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital at Kalwa, two critically injured patients — Shiva Gawli (23) and Anil More (40) are undergoing treatment at Jupiter Hospital at Thane.
Nila said that as a remedial measure, all new rakes currently under production for the Mumbai Suburban Railway will now come equipped with automatic door-closing mechanisms. “Existing rakes in service will be redesigned to incorporate door-closing features (like in AC trains) to prevent passengers from travelling on open footboards,” he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar have expressed shock and grief over the incident.
In a related development, the leaders of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), said that the incident exposed the lack of safety mechanism of the suburban railway network in Mumbai.
“The incident is extremely unfortunate and heart-wrenching. The very fact that people are forced to travel by clinging to open doors of overcrowded trains just to get to work is a tragic reflection of the system. This is not a railway accident—it is a human sacrifice taken by the BJP government. There must be an investigation into the incident, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw should be held accountable and removed from the cabinet,”Maharashtra Pradesh Congress President Harshavardhan Sapkal said.
Former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, who is a senior leader of Shiv Sena (UBT) also called for the resignation of the Railway Minister with immediate effect.
“This incident is unfortunate but not new—such incidents have happened in the past. We don’t know whether he is the Rail Minister or ‘Reel Minister’. He does not focus on the real issues of the railways. It is unfortunate,” Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said.
Mumbai North Central MP and Mumbai Congress President Prof Varsha Gaikwad said: “ The incident has once again exposed the lack of safety in Mumbai’s train networks. We have raised this issue several times in the Parliament too. The Mumbai train networks be it suburban or long distance need a proper policy for crowd management. The railways need better actual management not just image management through reels”.
NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule said: “Since the train was very crowded, these passengers were traveling hanging from the doors. Traveling in such a manner is dangerous. It is a humble request to the citizens that please do not travel in a dangerous manner. Along with this, the railway administration should also take measures to plan the crowd and prevent possible damage.”
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar said: “I strongly urge a thorough and transparent inquiry into the incident to uncover the full truth and ensure accountability at every level. All necessary support—financial and medical—should be immediately extended to the families of those who lost their lives, as well as to those who were injured,” he said.
AAP Mumbai Working President Ruben Mascarenhas said: “On an average, 7 people die every day for the past so many years, in the Mumbai Suburban railway system. This is a national disgrace. Mumbaikars’ lives are cheap. The Railway Minister is incompetent and is busy making reels”.
Explaining the cause of the accident, Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde said: “There is a sharp curve near Mumbra station. When two local trains—up and down—passed simultaneously, some passengers hanging from the footboards either fell off or were crushed inside the coaches.”
Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan, who visited the Mumbra station said: “The state government will provide `5 lakh each to the kin of those who died in the incident. Financial assistance will also be given to the injured persons to bear the treatment cost”.
