Rlys ferrying people like cattle, says HC

The Bombay High Court on Monday criticised the Railways over the "very very serious" issue of fatalities caused by people falling from trains, saying that this has to be addressed.

- Urvi Mahajani

"You carry people like cattle," the High Court said, adding that it will make the highest level officers accountable as the "situation in Mumbai is pathetic".

"A very, very serious issue has been raised in the PIL and therefore you have to address it. You can't say, we can't do this or can't do that due to the large number of people (in the city). You carry people like cattle... We feel ashamed at the manner in which commuters are made to commute. It should be a well considered reply," said a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar.

The court was hearing a PIL by one Yatin Jadhav which has voiced concern about the fatalities among commuters using the Mumbai suburban railway, which is the second busiest globally after Tokyo.

The advocates for the petitioners, Rohan Shah and Surabhi Prabhudesai, pointed out that a Free Press Journal report dated January 10, 2024, quoted a Government Railway Police report to state that 2,590 commuters lost their lives on the suburban trains in 2023 alone -- which is seven people dying every day. While 1,650 people were killed in accidents on the Central Railway, 940 died on the Western Railway, the report said.

There are three main causes of fatalities, including people crossing railway tracks, falling from the trains and people falling between the gaps in the trains and platforms, Shah contended.