The Monday morning death toll on Mumbai’s Central Railway between the far suburbs of Diva and Mumbra underscores, once again, the urgent need for not only a robust but also a safe service.
At least four died, and many were injured. All of them were reportedly perched on the footboard of the north-bound Kasara train and collided with commuters similarly hanging out of a south-bound train headed to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus; either the commuters or their bags collided, and at least a dozen fell onto the tracks, according to eyewitnesses.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed shock and sympathy, but this is not enough. The tragic deaths should force the state government and the Union Ministry of Railways to prioritise safety—an issue that has plagued Mumbai’s lifeline suburban train services.
Overcrowding, especially at peak working hours, and a super-dense crush load of 14 to 16 persons per square metre in trains, which is unheard of in any city in the world, have been accepted by all as the de facto state of affairs.
The railway authorities overseeing the two systems, Western and Central, have long prided themselves on an extensive network with a high ridership that touches 7.5 million commuters a day on workdays.
However, less known is the fact that nearly 3,500 died routinely every year—or an average of ten a day—due to accidents arising out of overcrowding or crossing the railway tracks till recently; this total death toll in the past two years has been around 2,500 annually.
Only the heartless will justify that these are not alarming averages for a system that unfailingly ferries a staggering 7.5 million but has a death toll of nearly 2,500 a year, means as many families devastated, left without their breadwinners, dealing with the trauma of grieving for loved ones who went to work and never returned.
In a decade, this means 25,000 to 30,000 people lost to unsafe public transport. Is this not a shocking statistic? Does it behove the authorities to shrug off these deaths as part of the hazards that come with living in Mumbai or the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region?
The Bombay High Court, shocked at this last year, rejected commuter volume as an excuse for inaction and sought affidavits directly from the general managers of the Central and Western Railways.
“We are going to make the officers accountable at the highest level. The situation here is pathetic… You can’t say that considering the number of passengers in Mumbai, you are doing a good job,” the HC bench rapped them.
It’s a comment on the unpardonable priorities of governments too. Although Mumbai’s suburbs expanded, enough attention was not paid to the infrastructure and connectivity in areas like Diva-Mumbra on the Central line or Bhayandar-Virar on the Western.
The fact that the railways, such a vital aspect, continue to be governed from Delhi is no less a concern. Mumbai's suburban railway network needs an independent authority stationed here and familiar with the city's lifeline.
