Mumbai: Commuters choke on smoke inside Metro train

Mumbai Metro Red Line 7 passengers claim that after a bus parked below Borivlirsquos Devipada station caught fire on Tuesday smoke entered a packed train as it halted at the stop Further the trainrsquos doors were opened not once but twice allowing smoke to engulf the coachesThe passengers also stated that they received no help at the next station For a city aiming to establish a mega Metro network in the next few years such lapses in handling emergencies expose a lack of preparedness and standard operating proceduresDevipada station in Borivli which was engulfed in smoke after a bus caught fire PicsBy Special ArrangementSources said the random fire in a bus below Devipada station on Red Line 7 should have triggered enough alarms prompting station staff to warn incoming and outgoing trains However there was only chaos which put commuters in perilTraumatic experienceYogesh Namjoshi who underwent the ordeal told midday ldquoThe train arrived at the station around 430 pm and the doors opened The station was engulfed in smoke and it entered the train Hapless passengers were clueless as to where the smoke was coming from as no announcements were made After a few minutes the doors closed and we desperately waited for the train to depart as the smoke had increased But the train pilot decided to open the doors again and panic started to grip us as even more smoke entered the train The way out couldnrsquot be made out due to the smoke A few passengers thought that the doors being opened the second time was an indication to deboard the train but absolutely nothing was communicated via the emergency announcement system Fortunately after a few minutes the train began to move but only after dense smoke had entered the coaches and the doors were closed Everyone deboarded at the next station But the staff there was not trained to check if any of the passengers were facing breathing issues or needed medical helprdquoNamjoshi went on to add ldquoDespite the incident I still feel that the Metro is the best thing that has happened to Mumbai and it is the safest mode of transport Yes such lapses should not be swept under the carpet They should be investigated and corrective actions should be takenrdquo He also specifically demanded an enquiry be held to find out why the train doors were opened for a second time why the emergency announcement system was not used and why the train had halted longer than usual at the station which created panicOfficial SpeakSpeaking about the incident in a statement Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited MMMOCL which operates the line said there was no fire hazard inside the train ldquoThe Metro staff and fire brigade responded swiftly and brought the situation under control Due to the stationrsquos open design smoke briefly reached the platform and entered one coach when the doors opened The situation was promptly managed at the next stationrdquo a statement saidAn official said ldquoThe train concerned had entered the station just as the fire had broken out After serving the halt at the station as the doors closed the inbuilt fire alert in the train system sensed the smoke and set off the alarm which led to the opening of the doors againThe idea was to disperse the smoke but realising that coaches were taking in more smoke the doors were shut quickly and the train moved away All subsequent rail traffic from both directions skipped Devipada station for nearly 15 minutesrdquoNew recordOn June 24 2025 the Mumbai Metro Red Line 7 and Yellow Line 2A recorded a recordbreaking footfall of 297600 passengers its highest ridership ever Over 64 per cent of riders opted for digital tickets This milestone comes just six days after our previous record of 294681Dr Sanjay Mukherjee metropolitan commissioner MMRDA and chairman Maha Mumbai Metro said ldquoThis significant milestone reflects Mumbairsquos growing love for Maha Mumbai Metro My heartfelt thanks to the people of Mumbai and congratulations to our dedicated team for making this possible With an average 5 per cent monthly growth in ridership we remain committed to providing Mumbai seamless safe and green commutemdashrain or shine all year roundrdquo The busiest Metro stations are Gundavli Andheri West Dahisar East Malad West and Lower Oshiwara while the busiest hour is 9 am to 10 am