The Bombay High Court on Thursday rapped the Central and Western Railways over the high number of deaths of commuters travelling on Mumbai local trains.
Asking the railways to address the alarming number of deaths on the Mumbai Suburban railway system, the court said that a robust system is needed and that it may establish a committee of experts to conduct a high-level study on the matter.
The Bombay High Court sought affidavits personally vetted by the General Managers of the Central and Western Railways. The division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar stressed that railways has to find effective solutions rather than using the large number of commuters as an excuse.
The court also sought the assistance of Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas to address the issue.
“The matter needs to be taken care of. The matter needs to be studied by the General Manager himself…we need a very robust system to be in place so that this can be checked. It’s a shame. Sorry to use this word. I feel ashamed. The manner in which in the local trains, the passengers are made to commute,” Chief Justice Upadhyay added.
“This time, we are going to make the officers accountable at the highest level. The situation here in Bombay is pathetic. You (Railways) can’t feel happy by proclaiming that you are commuting 35,00,000 people a day. You can’t also say that considering the number of passengers in Mumbai, you are doing a good job,” the bench said.
‘2590 People Died in 2023 While Commuting on Mumbai Local’
The court’s observations came on a PIL filed by Yatin Jadhav, a Virar resident, highlighting the systemic issues causing these deaths and proposing measures for improvement.
The PIL cited that 2,590 commuters lost their lives on the Mumbai Suburban Rail in 2023, equating to about seven fatalities per day. The petitioner said that the primary causes of these deaths include trespassing on railway tracks, passengers falling from moving trains, and incidents involving gaps or poles, including electrocution. These three factors alone account for 1,895 deaths annually, nearly five fatalities daily, the petitioner said.
Appearing for Jadhav, Advocate Rohan Shah noted that the Mumbai Local is the second-busiest railway system after Tokyo, adding that the death ratio per thousand commuters is 33.8, compared to 2.66 in New York and 1.43 in London. “Coming to college or going to work is like going to war, as the fatalities are more than the number of soldiers dying in active duty,” Shah said during the hearing.
Significant Measures Have Been Taken: Western Railway
The Western Railway said that significant measures have been taken to improve infrastructure and safety, referring to compliance with earlier court guidelines and the construction of foot over bridges at stations.
The counsel for Western Railway highlighted that the Mumbai Suburban Rail carries about 33 lakh passengers daily with over 1,500 services, and said that numerous safety measures had been implemented over the years.
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