Kurla, Borivali recorded highest track trespass fatalities: ORF study

“Railway trespassing is responsible for maximum fatalities. While the government also needs to get together with IIT to figure out a solution for the platform height issue which is another reason for railways accidents, public awareness in avoiding line crossing is the need of the hour,” said Vivek Sahai, former chairman of the Railway Board.

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The report, released by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, indicated that 73 per cent of all accidents that occurred due to trespassing resulted in deaths. Dhaval Desai, the report’s author, said, “Trespassing is a compulsion for some, such as handicapped, who have no escalator or lift to use at stations. Several do it out of compulsion.” At Mankhurd station, school children cross tracks every day for East to West access as no alternative arrangement is available, said the ORF study.

“With inadequate availability of foot-over-bridges and subways, during peak hours people prefer rushing over tracks to catch their train. There is a need for more escalators and subways,” said Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of ORF.

Data from Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) said that while daily passengers have shot up by 2,483.9 per cent over last 50 years, the total number of suburban railway services have marginally increased by 284 per cent. Currently, 75.52 lakh people commute on both, Central and Western line, on a daily basis. Sahai said that creation of ‘mid-town terminal’, instead of having end-to-end trains from Churchgate and VT, at stations such as Kurla, Dadar and Borivali will improve services.

In the 2015-2016 Railway Budget, allocation of Rs 1 crore for Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-3) has been done. However, with the project completion deadline fixed at 2031, the ORF recommended need for immediate improvements in existing transport system to curb accidents.

“We need to have cyclic time table for more trains,” said Sahai. According to Deepak Gandhi, chairman of Mumbai Suburban Railway Passenger Association, an improved cyclic time-table can reduce passenger load on each train by over 30 per cent. Additionally, the ORF report stressed the need for a separate administrative body for handling the suburban railways, which currently comes under the Central and Western Railways.

A JJ College study on the trespassing issue gave a number of recommendations such as creation of wall on either sides of railway tracks, widening of foot-over-bridges, fencing between platforms, better connectivity, and increased number of lifts and escalators for major stations. Their estimated cost for all the work totalled to Rs 47.75 crore for Western Railway and Rs 82.30 crore for Central Railway.

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