In Action: CR’s blue-light indicator warns commuters about departing local

Central Railway (CR) has installed a blue-light indicator at the entrance of a suburban local on a trial basis to inform passengers that the train is about to move and that they should not board it.

The railways is experimenting with the blue-light indicator, which has been fixed at the top of the entrance of the train on a pilot basis to discourage people from trying to board the train at the last moment or when it has picked up speed.

The blue light, after the train is signalled to move, emits a beam on the platform warning the passengers not to board or alight when it starts moving.

According to a senior railway official, the beam of the blue-light falls at least three feet away on the platform ramp to warn the passengers to maintain safe distance to avoid accidents from an incoming or outgoing train.

The official pointed out that the decision was taken after Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who is from Mumbai and has travelled a lot in the suburban railway network, expressed concern over fatalities involving passengers falling off running trains.

The official said the blue-light beam is being tested on one of the non-air conditioned Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) train, which does not have the automatic doors like the air-conditioned EMU and Metro trains.

The official further said the project has been started on a pilot basis, and in the coming days, the visual indicator will be installed on more coaches and rakes of Mumbai suburban locals.

“We will monitor the performance of the new blue light visual indicator. Based on commuter feedback, a decision would be taken on installing it in more coaches,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer of CR.

The indicator mechanism was developed at CR’s Kurla car shed.

With over 75 lakh daily commuters, Mumbai suburban network is among the largest and busiest in the world.