Mint Quick Edit | Mumbai local train safety: On track at last
The city’s suburban rail network has long been typified by overpacked trains with passengers bulging out of open doors. It’s a relief that the Indian Railways is moving to consign this gulp-inducing practice to history.
Mumbai’s gleaming skyline puts it in the league of the world’s most iconic business districts. Yet, its image of overcrowding, captured by the sight of its suburban trains, endures. Over-packed carriages with passengers hanging out of open doors in moving trains have become synonymous with the city, with people identifying such pictures as Mumbai’s without batting an eyelid.
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Its modern infrastructure has been at risk of being overshadowed by this gulp-inducing occurrence. Thankfully, change is on its way, with the Indian Railways announcing that all new rakes for Mumbai’s suburban network will now have automatic doors, as with metro services. Existing rakes will be equipped with these too.
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The decision’s immediate trigger may have been the feared deaths of at least four passengers on Monday after people bulging out of crossing trains collided, with many falling off. But this was a step long overdue.
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Sure, these services need to carry as many people as possible to meet demand, but safety should be paramount. Inexplicably, the city’s local trains have operated with precariously perched passengers for decades. It’s time to consign this practice to history.
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