Mumbai: Mumbai’s suburban rail network, the city’s lifeline, is on the brink of a major safety transformation. The Railways on Friday announced that a prototype of a closed-door local train has been developed and will soon undergo a pilot run, reported ANI.
The development comes in response to mounting concerns over passenger safety, especially after the June 9 Mumbra tragedy in which eight commuters fell off a crowded local train and lost their lives. The Ministry of Railways, under Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, is committed to introducing automatic door closing systems across the city’s local trains to curb such incidents.
Ashwini Vaishnaw Announces Local Trains With Automatic Doors Soon
“All newly manufactured non-AC local trains will now come fitted with automatic doors, while work is also underway to retrofit the existing fleet,” Vaishnaw had earlier said, adding that all AC locals already feature the system. He stressed that the move will majorly reduce risks faced by lakhs of daily commuters, particularly during peak hours when overcrowding and open doors often lead to accidents.
The minister was speaking during an inspection of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, where a breakthrough was achieved in a 4.8 km tunnel on September 20. Highlighting the importance of Mumbai’s suburban network, he said, “Passenger safety is our highest priority. With closed-door locals, we aim to prevent tragedies linked to overcrowding.”
Officials confirmed that the tendering process for 238 new AC locals for Mumbai has already begun. Once operational, these trains, combined with the closed-door design, are expected to gradually transform the suburban travel experience.
Over 7000 Local Train Deaths In 3 Years
The numbers underline the urgency of the initiative. According to Maharashtra’s Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, 7,565 passengers have died and 7,293 were injured in local train-related accidents over the last three years alone, many due to falls from open doors.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also endorsed the plan earlier this year, asserting in June that all coaches in Mumbai’s suburban network would eventually be replaced with safer, closed-door rakes.
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