Spate of violent incidents on local trains raises commuter safety concerns

A series of violent incidents inside the Mumbai local trains over the past year ranging from robbery and stabbing to fatal assaults and suicide has raised serious concerns about commuter safety on the suburban railway networkIn November 2024 a seat dispute inside a local train led to the murder of a commuter at Ghatkopar railway station A 16yearold boy allegedly stabbed the victim to death after a heated argument over seating during the journey The accused was later identified through CCTV footage and was sent to a juvenile detention centre after being arrested by the GRPAnother disturbing incident occurred in November 2025 when a 19yearold firstyear science student died by suicide in Thane days after allegedly being assaulted on a local train following an argument over not speaking in Marathi The incident occurred between Ambernath and Kalyan The victimrsquos father later told police that his son was under severe psychological stress after the incident which he believed pushed him to take the extreme stepIn December 2025 a young man was stabbed multiple times inside a moving CSMTPanvel local train near Vashi station The Government Railway Police GRP registered an attempttomurder case after the attacker fled the scene The victim a call centre employee from Ghansoli sustained serious injuries to his neck chest back and waist The incident occurred between Mankhurd and Vashi stationsIn the latest case reported in January 2026 a 30yearold man lost his leg after being pushed off a moving train in Thane following a phone robbery The victim had boarded a fast local train from Thane to Badlapur and was travelling in the luggage compartment when a man sitting next to him suddenly snatched his mobile phone During the fight that followed the victim fell from the moving train He suffered a traumatic amputation of his leg along with serious injuries to the back of his head and left cheek and swelling near his eyeVoices of Mumbai railway commutersldquoPeople have become shorttempered these days Irsquove travelled for decades and earlier there was chaos but less anger Now commuters are exhausted and irritable You feel safe most days but never fully secure The police need to be more attentive instead of being in their own worldrdquo said Sulochana Desai 54 a school teacherldquoTrain delays and overcrowded stations are making commuters angry and frustrated That anger often leads to conflict Most days yoursquore just trying to survive the rush One argument one push and things can spiral quicklyrdquo said Rakesh Patil an office executiveldquoWhile travelling you have to remain alert at all times especially during peak hours Itrsquos not exactly fear but yoursquore constantly guarding your space The train moves fast but your mind never relaxes There are many sensitive people around and you never know who is coming from whererdquo said Neha Fernandes 29 a marketing professionalPassenger association reactionsldquoMost government and police personnel remain busy checking bags at FOBs and platforms at stations like Malad and Borivali instead of monitoring passenger safety during peak hours Passengers are helpless if something happens inside a moving trainAt times helplines do not work or calls go unanswered Many passengers are also afraid to pull the chain due to rules and penalties RPF offices are not easily accessible from platformsA panic button is essential in all local train coaches for emergencies While AC locals have a facility to contact the guard or motorman this must also be introduced in nonAC trains The heavy budget allocated for railway safety often appears to be only on paperrdquo said Shailesh Goyal former member National Railway Users Consultative CommitteeldquoWhat kind of safety can GRP or RPF provide when field staff are often busy on their mobile phones Transgenders beggars and unauthorised vendors are very common inside local trains Complaints have been made repeatedly even at the IG level but with no resultThere are CCTV cameras in some AC EMU trains but RPF and GRP rarely use the footage to curb antisocial elementsrdquo said Rajiv Singal member Western Railway Mumbai Divisional Railway Usersrsquo Consultative Committee ldquoThis incident highlights the urgent need for enhanced safety measures and increased staffing across the Mumbai railway network including the Mumbai Central divisionAs a passenger association representative I urge the Ministry of Railways to deploy additional staff in the Mumbai division to improve commuter safety I also request the Maharashtra government to increase GRP personnel to prevent such incidents in the futurerdquo said Ketan Shah member Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee