London tube station-style yellow lines painted on staircases leading to Kurla foot overbridges to demarcate entry and exit points for commuters
While Mumbaikars are still trying to wrap their heads around what triggered last Friday's horror stampede at Elphinstone station, the Kurla Railway Protection Force (RPF) has found a bizarre solution to avert a similar tragedy on its foot overbridges – yellow lines.
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Kurla RPF took to painting long yellow strips in the middle of the staircases of each FOB at the station
Over the weekend, the RPF took to painting yellow lines right down the middle of staircases on one of the four FOBs at the busy station, to demarcate entry and exit points for commuters. The yellow lines are similar to those seen on platforms at tube stations in London, drawn near the edge of the platform to demarcate the line before which commuters are expected to wait for the train.
According to Suresh Atri, RPF inspector at Kurla station, the yellow lines "will help provide direction to the crowd". "The crowd taking the FOB will be able to figure which side of the staircase to go up and climb down from. We've made a yellow line exactly in the middle to segregate the crowd movement. This will help prevent casualties during peak-hour rush."
The RPF has also written directions in Marathi on the ground near FOBs to direct crowd movement.
RPF personnel have also written directions in Marathi (already faded) on the floor of the foot overbridges to direct crowd movement
Commuters have, however, trashed Kurla RPF's solution as redundant. "What kind of solution is this?" asked one commuter. "Kurla is one of the busiest stations on the Central Railway route. During peak hours, the crowds using the FOBs are massive. It's impossible for anyone to look down and follow directions."
Another commuter said, "The Railways should plan on improving existing infrastructure and employ staff to monitor crowd movement. Nobody is going to be able to yellow lines or read directions scribbled on the ground."
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