Mumbai: With closed doors, locals to be safer

Mumbai: The railway budget does not have anything new for Mumbaikars, but Mumbai does have one takeaway: the commuter will be safer as all new local trains built under MUTP III (Mumbai Urban Transport Project) will now have closed doors and vestibules.

This comes at a time when Union minister Arun Jaitley made the announcement of allotting Rs1 lakh crore for rail safety fund. Mumbai has become infamous for the number of deaths on its tracks with an average of 10 deaths a day, making it one of the deadliest commutes in the world. Nirmal Jain, former member of Divisional Railway User Consultative Committee (DRUCC), said, “Right now we cannot imagine trains with closed doors but it is the need of the hour.” He further added, “This will also mean that the mindset of the Mumbaikar will change, they will not get into the train (if it’s overcrowded) if they don’t have any other choice.”

Chief managing director of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), Prabhat Sahai said, “According to the pre-requisites that we have sent to the railways closed-door and vestibules are one of primary concern.” He further added, “The trains will obviously be air-conditioned because if the doors are closed, people will suffocate in the Mumbai local rush.”

A total of 47 trains will be built under MUTP III.