Mumbai's suburban railway accidents claimed 9 lives daily in 2014

Mumbai: An average of nine persons lost their lives daily due to accidents, suicides or natural deaths while on the move in suburban Mumbai Railway, the lifeline of the country's financial capital in 2015.

The data of 'Accidental Deaths - Year 2014' available with the Government Railway Police (GRP) states 2,221 deaths occurred on Central Railway (CR) network and 1,202 fatalities on the Western Railway (WR).

The number of injured was 2,062 on the CR and 1,237 on the WR, the total of which comes to 3,299 last year. This means on an average eight passengers suffered injuries daily.

In 2013, a total 83 more accidental deaths were reported along the 474.66 km long railway route in comparison with the year 2014. The number of injured was 2062 on the CR and 1256 on the WR.

Rail activists have dubbed the suburban railway network as a 'silent killer' due to the alarming number of deaths and injuries on tracks, saying the lifeline is proving to be a "virtual death trap".

GRP Commissioner Ravindra Singhal admits there is a need for introspection by the railway authorities and police.

"I do agree that the figure is worrying. There is a need to improve infrastructure by constructing more Foot Over Bridges (FOB), manning railway cross gates, building more safety walls. Besides, the most important thing is sensitising the passengers that how seriously change their lives if they do not follow safety norms."

Central Railway spokesperson A K Singh laid emphasis on creating awareness among the commuters. "Commuters do not use available FOBs risking their lives. We have constructed boundary walls at major junctions. We are doing everything best we could do to better our service," Singh claimed.

Kalyan railway police station jurisdiction, with 849 fatalities, topped the accidental death chart followed by Kurla Railway Police which recorded 681 deaths in 2014.

In 2013 too, Kalyan railway police jurisdiction witnessed 815 deaths while Kurla saw 747 fatalities.