Eight passengers travelling towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) fell from an excessive crowded train at Mumbra railway station in Thane district on Monday, officials from Central Railways said.
Soon after the incident, the Railway Board has taken two important decisions which is all rakes under manufacturing for Mumbai Suburban will have automatic door closer facilities and all rakes in service will be redesigned and door closure facility will be provided in these rakes of Mumbai Suburban.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity (EDIP) at the Railway Board, said to ANI, "Information has been received about some passengers falling from a local train near Mumbra station.
According to the details received, these people were travelling on the footboard, which caused them to fall. All of them have been taken to the local hospital for treatment, where the medical team of the Railway Administration has also reached, and we are taking stock of the whole situation. In view of all this and to prevent such incidents, the railways have decided to provide automatic door closure facilities for all rakes under construction in the future for the Mumbai suburb, apart from the rake that people now have.
Apart from this, we are exploring the possibility of installing door closer facilities in the racks that are currently in service. Then, we will provide automatic door closer facilities for all these rakes in a phased manner..."
Giving information about the deaths that happened after falling from a Mumbai local train due to overcrowding, Central Railway CPRO Swapnil Neela assures that they there would be trains with automatic door closure facility soon to avert such incidents.
He said, "The incident that has happened, the guard of the train plying between CSMT and Kasara informed us, eight people had fallen on track, ambulance was arranged by Railway to send them to hospital, it reached around 9:50 am, these people were travelling on footboard of the local train. Now, new trains that are coming, will have automatic door closure facility, to avert such incidents."
The accident, which occurred on the Down/Fast Line, disrupted local train services. According to Central Railways,the reason for the accident is believed to be excessive crowd on the train.
Passengers travelling on the footboard on a local train from Kasara and similarly those on a train going towards CSMT,collided with each other and fell.
"Some passengers travelling towards CSMT fell from the train at Thane's Mumbra railway station. The reason for the accident is believed to be excessive crowd in the train. The railway administration and police have reached the spot," Central Railways said in an official statement.
"There has been an incident where eight people travelling on local trains from Mumbra to Diva fell down. The guard of a Kasara-bound local train reported this incident. These people have been rushed to the hospital for their treatment," said Swapnil Dhanraj Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Central Railway.
He further added, "This incident happened between Mumbra-Diva railway stations on the Down/Fast Line. People travelling on the footboard on a local train from Kasara and similarly those on a train going towards CSMT (/topic/csmt), collided with each other and fell."
"It is not a collision. In this incident, the passengers travelling on footboards in trains in opposite directions got entangled. This is one of the suspected reasons for the incident, as informed by a passenger.
The distance between two trains is 1.5-2 meters, but on curves, a slight tilt happens, and this could be an additional reason for the incident," he further said.
The injured have being taken immediately to the nearest hospital.Local services have also been affected after the incident.Railway officials and local police reached the site and began a preliminary investigation.
*With Agency Inputs
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