The Bombay High Court (HC) on Friday, June 20, expressed concern over the rising number of deaths on Mumbai suburban railway network. The court said the situation was “alarming and disturbing”, with an average of 10 people dying each day.
The judges pointed to the recent Mumbra train tragedy, where five people lost their lives. The court asked the railway authorities to consider installing automatic doors on local trains to stop people from falling. The suggestion came during a hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
The Petition
The PIL was filed by a regular commuter, Yatin Jadhav. Jadhav raised concerns about the safety of passengers and asked for a team of experts to be formed to suggest ways to stop such deaths. Senior advocates Rohan Shah and Surabhi Prabhudesai represented the petitioner in court.
Centre’s Response
In response, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Centre, told the court that a multidisciplinary committee was already formed. This committee is led by a senior divisional safety officer and is looking into the Mumbra accident. He also said that the railways have set up a high-level monitoring group that is working under a “zero death mission”.
The Court’s Response
The court asked these committees to review the recommendations made by the petitioner. The judges directed that the committees should record their suggestions and give a timeline for implementation within three weeks.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V. Marne, noted that a total of 3,588 people died on Central and Western Railway lines in 2024. This means ten people are dying every day on Mumbai’s local trains.
Justice Marne said that even though the railways claim a 46% drop in deaths compared to 2009, the current numbers are still too high.
Chief Justice Aradhe added that the steps taken so far are not enough and asked why automatic doors cannot be used to control the crowd. He said that even as laypersons, they believe this could be a key safety measure.
Background
The railways had earlier informed the court in August last year that over 45,000 lives have been lost on the suburban railway network in the past 15 years.
ASG Singh told the court that other steps were being taken under the zero death mission. These include removing stalls from crowded platforms, building boundary walls, fencing along the tracks, and creating barriers to stop trespassing and track crossing.
Singh assured the court that the committee reviewing the Mumbra accident would soon suggest corrective measures. These recommendations, along with timelines, will be submitted to the court.
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