Killer stretch: Sion-Mulund

This segment has seen the maximum deaths and injuries to railway commuters in the past 3 years

CENTRAL Railway commuters crossing the stretch between Mulund to Sion on a daily basis would do well to remember that they are travelling through the city's deadliest patch in terms of railway accidents.


Commuters risk life and limb every day by crossing the tracks dangerously at Kurla station

According to statistics obtained from the Mumbai Railway Police, a whopping 1,412 people were killed and 1,558 commuters were injured on this stretch (see box), which comes under the jurisdiction of the Kurla Railway Police Station, in the last three years.
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The stretch has accounted for more than one-tenth of all the deaths 11,198 and injuries 12,190 in the 2008-2010 period.

Of the 17 railway police station zones, Kurla followed by Kalyan on the central line also have the dubious distinction of being the ones in which the most number of accidental deaths were registered between 2008 and 2010. Their closest competitor is Borivli on the western line.

Kurla also beats the competition in terms of injuries with Kalyan and Borivli taking turns at outdoing each other every alternate year.

Causes

While crossing railway tracks caused the maximum number of deaths, people falling off overcrowded trains was responsible for the maximum number of injuries on the killer stretch.

And, even though the railways blame passengers for crossing tracks despite having foot over bridges (FOBs), activists say the improper railway infrastructure is to blame for the deaths and injuries.

"Overcrowding coupled with local trains halting for barely 15 to 20 seconds on each station leads to many injuries.

Hooliganism and fights inside crowded trains also lead to passengers being pushed out and the police treat them as trespassers instead of passengers in the absence of witnesses," said Bhavesh Patel, who has done extensive studies on railway accidents and heads Manavata, an NGO that provides help to railway accident victims.

"Another major cause is the improper infrastructure. The height between the footboard and platforms is not uniform across stations, leading to passengers slipping through the gaps.

The insufficient number of FOBs at many railway stations and the occupation of the existing ones by hawkers leave people no choice but to cross railway tracks," he added.

Accidents are also caused by passengers travelling on the footboard taking a hit from the railway poles. On an average, 10 people die in railway accidents in Mumbai every day.

Case study

SANDIP Kumar, who had come to the city from Bihar for the first time, recounts how he met with an accident at Kurla station. "I had come to Mumbai to give an interview at CST and had no idea about the stations or anything to do with the city's local trains.


Of the 17 railway police station zones, Kurla followed by Kalyan on the central line also have the dubious distinction of being the ones in which the most number of accidental deaths were registered between 2008 and 2010

I did not even know that foot over bridges existed at railway stations. When I asked a passenger at Kurla which train I should get onto to get to CST, he pointed to a train at an adjacent platform.

I panicked as I thought there would be no other trains and began crossing the tracks like some other passengers. I saw a local train hurtling towards me from the other direction and I slipped between the tracks," he said. Kumar lost one of his legs and was in a hospital for nearly a month.u00a0

Officialspeak

Vidyadhar Malegaonkar, chief PRO, CR, said, "Being hit by a train while trespassing or falling off from a running train are not railway accidents. How can we help it if passengers insist on crossing railway tracks despite the presence of FOBs? We keep conducting drives to make people aware about the dangers of doing so. 10 new FOBs are also coming up in vulnerable places like Diva, Vikhroli, Vidyavihar and Kalwa."

Raj Khilnani, DGP (GRP), said, "Overcrowding in the trains is the main reason for the rising number of accidents. The figures are also increasing because of longer trains and the increasing number of tracks. Passengers fighting inside the trains also lead to mishaps. We have been trying our best to make passengers aware of the need for using FOBs."

10
No of people that die in railway accidents in Mumbai every day

15
No of seconds that a local train halts at the platform for passengers to board and alight