Mumbai: Central Railways set to get 34-kilometer wall to stop track deaths

At least nine to 11 people die in the city every day by crossing railway tracks, falling from trains and other commuting-related mishaps. File pic

The Central Railway (CR) has hit upon another trick to stop the number of deaths occurring due to the casual crossing of railway tracks. In a multi-crore project, CR has decided to build high walls on either side of the entire 34-km stretch from CSMT to Thane-Diva to free the network from problems of trespassing, encroachment, and crowds crossing tracks.

While the walls had previously been built only at accident prone spots, this is possibly the first time that the entire 34-km stretch is being fenced in. The walls will be built as per recommendations of the Government Railway Police, who had listed accident prone sites along the CR tracks. "The construction of walls will be done to plug the various gaps in existing walls along the entire CR stretch, and save precious lives. It will also help consolidate the system and boost train movement," said Sunil Udasi, chief PRO, CR.

In two phases
Two separate tenders worth R6.3 crore in total have been called for the construction of a 6 ft high wall made of reinforced concrete cement to be built over a period of six months. The work will happen in two phases. The first phase includes building a 3,370 metre-long wall between CSMT and Kanjurmarg at a cost of R2.4 crore. The second phase involves constructing a 5,255 metre-long wall between Kanjurmarg and Diva at a cost of Rs 3.9 crore.

The driving factor behind this project is the soaring number of railway track deaths that occur on the city's lifelines every day

The driving factor behind this project is the soaring number of railway track deaths that occur on the city's lifelines every day. Between 9 and 11 people die every day while crossing tracks, falling from trains and in other commuting-related mishaps. These walls will ensure Mumbai's lifeline runs unhindered, and will also help save lives lost while trespassing. In 2017, 3,014 commuters died on Mumbai's suburban railway section in accidents due to various reasons. Of these 1,651 died while crossing tracks.

Recurring issue
A senior CR official said, "During a train journey, several elements force a train to stop, like level crossings, trespassing, injuries or deaths, and other related events, besides the occasional technical snags and network congestion. Even on days of no technical snags, delays occur due to trespassing and detention at level crossings. The issue of trespassing is recurring. It not only leads to a loss of life, but also causes delays and hardships to thousands of passengers."

The project is being taken up under phase three of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) for mid-section trespassing control. Sources said the measures for this will include erecting tall concrete cement walls along the tracks, fencing and creating partitions between two rail lines, nearly 100 foot-over bridges on both CR and WR, making green patches and flower nurseries on larger areas between two stations and removing stairs from the ends of platforms.

Rs 2.4 crore
Cost of first phase of project

Rs 3.9 crore
Cost of second phase of project

Rs 6.3cr
Total amount of the first two tenders called for building a 6-ft-high wall

1.6k
No. of train commuters who died crossing tracks in 2017

Also read: Mumbai: Central Railway uses cloth rags for fractured rail to save from rush hour delay

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