Four dead after falling off Mumbai local train

Mumbai: At least four persons were killed and nine others were injured, two of them critically, after they fell down from two opposite-running local trains between Mumbra and Diva stations of the Central Railway in the Thane district, which adjoins the financial capital of Mumbai.

This is for the first time in the history of suburban railway that footboard passengers carrying bags/backpacks on board overcrowded trains running on parallel tracks perhaps brushed against each other and fell on the tracks leading to casualties.

The incident has once again brought to the fore the issue of passenger safety in the suburban train network in the Mumbai metropolitan region - which is considered the lifeline of the financial capital.

The incident took place between 9 am to 9:15 am during the Monday morning peak traffic hours.

The deceased were identified as Rahul Gupta (23), Ketan Saroj (23), Mayur Shah (50) and Vicky Mukhyadal (34), a constable to the GRP.

While seven of the injured persons - Aadesh Bhoir (26), Rehan Shaikh (26), Tushar Bhagat (22), Manish Saroj (26), Machhindra Gotarne (39), Sneha Dhonde (21) and Priyanka Bhatia (26) are admitted to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital at Kalwa, two critical patients - Shiva Gawli (23) and Anil More (40) have been shifted to Jupiter Hospital in Thane city.

The Railway administration has ordered a probe into the incident.

The incident took place along a sharp curve near the Mumbra station on Line 3 and Line 4, which are the fast tracks.

“People travelling on footboard is something common in evening and morning peak hours. On an average, five to seven persons die daily on suburban networks because of incidents like falling from footboard, running over and freak mishaps,” said MR Joshi, a daily commuter from Badlapur.

According to officials, passengers standing on the footboards of both the Up and Down trains collided during the curve and fell down on the tracks.

“The victims were those who were travelling on footboards. People travelling on the footboard on a local train from Kasara and similarly those on a train going towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, collided with each other and fell,Passengers were travelling on footboard and had their backpacks/bags. Perhaps these may have brushed against each other and the mishap too place,” Central Railway spokesperson Swapnil Nila said, adding that generally the distance between the parallel tracks is around one-and-a-half to two metres.

For remedial measures, all new rakes currently under production for the Mumbai Suburban Railway will now come equipped with automatic door-closing mechanisms.Existing rakes in service will be redesigned to incorporate door-closing features (like in AC trains) to prevent passengers from travelling on open footboards,” he said, adding that fifth and sixth railway lines between Thane and Kalyan have helped these would be extended to CSMT.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar have expressed shock over the incident.

Explaining the cause of the accident, Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde said: “There is a sharp curve near Mumbra station. When two local trains—up and down—passed simultaneously, some passengers hanging from the footboards either fell off or were crushed inside the coaches.”

Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan visited the Mumbra station. “The state government will provide Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of those who died in the incident. Financial assistance will also be given to the injured persons to bear the treatment cost,” said Mahajan.

An injured passenger Tushar Bhagat of Titwala, said as the train approached the deadly curve near Mumbai, those standing near the doors got a sudden squeeze and attempted to hold on for dear life, but in seconds, he and others fell off the speeding train and hit the ground.

“We have been seeking additional services in the Thane network,” said Mumbra Passenger Sangh President M R Shaikh.