Deaths by falling off trains, killer gaps increase

Falling off running trains and falling into the gaps between the platform and the train continued to be major causes of railways fatalities with the number of deaths recorded rising in 2015 as compared to 2014.

As per the statistics maintained by the Government Railway Police (GRP), as many as 806 people were killed in 2015 by falling off running local trains. In 2014, this number was 797.

Falling into the big gaps between local trains and platforms in 2015 has killed another 40 people, up six from 34 in 2014.

On the Western Railway (WR), the Borivali to Vasai stretch is the deadliest, contributing to majority of the deaths. Chief PRO for WR Ravinder Bhakar said, “The work of increasing the height of platforms is underway. The deadline set for it is around two years. As far as deaths owing to falling off trains are concerned, a sudden increase in population towards Borivali and the Vasai end is the reason. Another is that it’s a transit point for commuters. We are looking at other possible reasons.”

On the Central Railway (CR), the stretches around Kurla, Thane, Kalyan, Vashi and Vadala Road stations contributed heavily to the overall deaths. The CR PRO was unavailable for comments.

Further, the number of people dying by getting hit by poles close to railway tracks has also increased from 11 in 2014 to 13 in 2015.

However, owing to the efforts taken by railways and GRP, the overall accidental deaths have come down to 3,304 in 2015 from 3,423 in 2014. Also, there has been a decrease in the number of persons dying while crossing tracks. In 2015, about 1,801 were killed while crossing railway tracks.