80 lakh ferried with zero fatalities: Mumbai locals achieve rare feat on June 26
Around 80 lakh passengers travel on Mumbai’s suburban trains daily and on average 8 to 9 commuters die due to various mishaps every day (Representational Image)
There were zero fatalities on Mumbai local trains on Wednesday, June 26 – a rare feat for the transporter which ferries close to 80 lakh commuters and witnesses over eight deaths on average every day.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) data showed no passenger was killed in mishaps on the suburban rail network on June 26. However, 11 passengers were injured in various incidents on the network the same day.
About 80 lakh passengers travel on Mumbai’s suburban trains daily on 2,800 services and on an average 8 to 9 commuters die every day due to various mishaps. The maximum fatalities were reported on September 8, 2016, when 18 people died in a single day.
Most fatal mishaps involve passengers falling off crowded trains or trespassing on railway tracks.
“Deaths on rail tracks take place primarily due to trespassing, boarding or alighting in running trains, violating safety and cautionary instructions, avoiding over bridges and using mobile phones and other electronic gadgets while crossing tracks,” an official said.
The Central and Western Railways have attributed the fall in such cases to massive infrastructure upgradation on the suburban network, effective patrolling and intensive drives across vulnerable sections.
CR chief spokesperson Sunil Udasi said, “We have closed boundary wall gaps at more than 100 locations in the past six months and constructed 41 FOBs in last 18 months.
“We have run more than 7,000 campaigns to create awareness against trespassing in the last one year and more than 7,000 people fined for trespassing.”
Chief PRO of WR Ravinder Bhakar attributed the drop in such incidents to the slew of steps taken by the rail administration. “We constructed boundary walls wherever needed and removed encroachments from trespassing-prone areas,” Bhakar said.
Also Read: Deaths on Mumbai locals down by 1% in 2018, yet more than 8 people died on tracks every day
