Congestion is causing passengers standing near doors to be pushed out of coaches on banked curves, says complaint. The extra passenger load during rush hour creates massive congestion in coaches. As a result, passengers standing near the doors are thrown out due to the tilting of trains. Due to this, many get seriously injured and some even die
A steep raised curve between Central Railway’s Kalwa and Mumbra railway stations. Pic/Rajendra B. Aklekar
A Diva-based commuter, Anand Maruti Patil, on Thursday formally raised a grievance with the railway ministry and Central Railway (CR), stating that sharp curves between Kalwa, Mumbra and Diva stations were leading to sudden jerks and passengers falling from suburban trains.
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Patil said in a complaint, the copy of which is with mid-day, “Coaches are tilting when passenger trains run on the up and down curves of Parsik tunnel ahead of Kalwa station, on both sides of Mumbra station and on both up and down curves towards Diva station after leaving Mumbra station. The extra passenger load during rush hour creates massive congestion in coaches. As a result, passengers standing near the doors are thrown out due to the tilting of trains. Due to this, many get seriously injured and some even die. Such incidents are happening frequently and the lives of the passengers are under threat.”
Parsik tunnel in Thane where coaches of passenger trains tend to tilt. File pic
Sources said the tracks between Kalwa and Mumbra have been diverted and upgraded due to work on the fifth and sixth lines and complaints have increased ever since the change was made. Last year alone, 68 people died due to falling off crowded trains in the area under the Thane railway police jurisdiction. The Thane railway police’s jurisdiction includes railway stations from Thane, Kalwa, Mumbra, Diva and Airoli, which is one of CR’s most crowded sections.
Most of these stations are beyond Thane and during the rush hour, it is difficult to even find a spot to stand on the platform, leave alone get inside trains. While most of the stations have slow and fast halts and multiple options, Kalwa station remains crowded as it’s close to Thane station and packed trains arriving from either direction.
Official Speak
A CR spokesperson told mid-day, “We are aware of the problem, but curvatures along the alignment are created due to land availability issues and they cannot be straightened unless land is available on either side. There is little that can be done at present.”
Passenger Speak
Dombivli-based advocate and commuter Deepak Dubey, whose brother Avadhesh Dubey lost his life falling from an overcrowded CR train, said, “The sharp turns between Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa are turning fatal and from a daily commuter’s passenger perspective, I feel it’s an engineering defect. While making this sharp turn, the acceleration and multiple left and right jerks on the elevation causes people to lose their balance and their lives. Also, Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa stations don’t comply with high court orders as they lack emergency medical rooms, doctors and ambulances. The time taken to rescue rail accident victims is a lot, resulting in deaths.”
Commuter activist Siddhesh Desai said, “The high number of commuters and very limited services create a deadly situation at Kalwa and Mumbra where the number of commuters is almost double the capacity of trains. The sand mafia carries out activities under the rails, which is also dangerous. The authorities must complete the Kalwa-Airoli rail link—an elevated train corridor—and construct a new Parsik station between Mumbra and Kalwa. This would reduce the load on Thane station.”
Passenger association member Subhash Gupta said, “The issue must be discussed by the Railway Accident Monitoring Committee, which must investigate the matter and make appropriate safety arrangements. There have been complaints since the tracks were upgraded after the addition of the fifth and sixth lines. The diversion of tracks has led to problems and a sharp curve. Railways should re-examine the alignment and put up speed limits if there is a problem.”
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