Mumbai: As many as four passengers are feared dead and nine others injured on Monday when 13 people fell off an overcrowded local train that was about to arrive at Mumbra railway station from Kasara, according to reports.
The tragedy struck around 9:20 am on Monday, near the Mumbra railway station. The injured have been admitted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, nearly 4km away, where disaster management officer Yasin Tadvi, medical superintendent Dr Malgaonkar and Kalwa police inspector were present.
Medical Team
A medical team is attending to the injured passengers, Central Railway officials said.
Overcrowded Train
The preliminary investigation suggested that the train was overcrowded and many passengers were reportedly traveling while hanging onto the train doors, a risky practice. The overcrowding led to the passengers falling off the train as the next station arrived.
The accident has disrupted local train services on the affected route, causing inconvenience to commuters. Authorities have initiated an investigation into the incident.
CPRO Swapnil Neela
Central Railway CPRO Swapnil Neela said that the train guard had reported a fall among the passengers between CSMT and Kasara. Ambulances and local railway personnel reached there at 9.50 am. These passengers were standing on the stairs of the local train. He said that soon local trains will have facilities like automatic gates, so that such incidents can be avoided.
Officials have cautioned passengers to avoid unsafe travel practices to prevent such accidents.
Automatic Doors
The Railway Board has taken this matter seriously and is going to take strict steps for the safety of passengers. From now on, the facility of closing automatic doors will be mandatorily added in all the railway stations under construction in the Mumbai suburban area. Its purpose is that the doors do not remain open in the moving train and no passenger travels by hanging.
Local Trains Increased
In the last few years, the number of local trains has been increased in Mumbai. Along with this, the metro line is also being expanded continuously in Mumbai, but train accidents are not decreasing. Travelling by train during peak hours in the morning and evening becomes very risky.
Due to the high prices of taxi cabs, people prefer local trains only. Whether it is Mumbai Dadar, Bandra, Kurla, Andheri, Churchgate or Borivali-Virar railway station, such crowds are seen in trains everywhere.