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More than 2,500 die every year on Mumbai's railway tracks
Mrityunjay Bose
DHNS
Last Updated IST
More than 80 lakh people use Mumbai's suburban network daily that is spread across six lines covering 390-odd km and 157 stations in the Mumbai metropolitan region.
More than 80 lakh people use Mumbai's suburban network daily that is spread across six lines covering 390-odd km and 157 stations in the Mumbai metropolitan region.

More than 2,500 people die and over 3,000 are injured annually in vast Mumbai's suburban network, considered the lifeline of India's business capital.

According to the data compiled by the Mumbai's Railway Police commissionerate in 2019, as many as 2,691 died and 3,198 injured on the suburban network.

The accidents are a major concern for the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR), that runs the local trains.

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Quoting figures from the Railway Police, the Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2019-20, reveals that in 2017, there were 3,014 deaths and 3,345 injuries, while in 2018, it was 2,981 and 3,349, respectively.

The CR and WR have been running an awareness campaign in terms of audio-visual content - and though it has come down, it remains a matter of concern.

The cause of these deaths include line-crossing, falling in gaps, falling down from trains, hitting railway poles, electric shocks and suicides, among others.

More than 80 lakh people use Mumbai's suburban network daily that is spread across six lines covering 390-odd km and 157 stations in the Mumbai metropolitan region. The CR and WR collectively run 3,029 services daily.

"Apart from announcements in the local trains and sensitising on safety, various measures have been taken to prevent accidents like the construction of overbridges, subways, and walls to control trespassing, and sealing of trespassing points and shifting of poles," the Economic Survey said.

On July 18, 2019, 18 people died - the maximum in a single day. These include 12 on CR and 6 on WR.

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(Published 10 March 2020, 14:33 IST)