Parliament Question: Commuters' Safety on Mumbai Suburban Railways

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 597 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025 COMMUTERS’ SAFETY ON MUMBAI SUBURBAN RAILWAYS 597. SHRI SASIKANTH SENTHIL: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of the number of commuter fatalities reported on Mumbai’s Suburban Railway network in the year 2024, if so, the details thereof, district-wise; (b) whether an inquiry was conducted into the recent accident near Mumbra station, if so, the findings thereof and the corrective measures taken by the Government; (c) whether the introduction of AC local trains with automatic doors has helped address overcrowding and reduce accidents, if so, the details of assessment of the effectiveness if any made; (d) whether the safety roadmap proposed in compliance with Bombay High Court directives included consultations with civil society groups, transport experts and commuter associations, if so, the outcomes of such consultations; and (e) the measures taken/being undertaken by the Government to enhance railway infrastructure, increase train frequency and eliminate commuter deaths on Mumbai’s suburban rail corridors? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) --2/--2- (a) to (e): ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India and therefore, State Governments are responsible for prevention, detection, registration, and investigation of crime and maintenance of law and order on Railways through their law enforcement agencies viz. Government Railway Police (GRP)/District Police. Railway Protection Force (RPF) supplements the efforts of GRP/ District Police to provide better protection and security to railway property, passenger area and passengers and for matters connected therewith. As per information received from GRP, 2,282 fatalities reported on Mumbai’s Suburban Railway network in 2024 due to various reasons such as trespassing, pole hitting, falling from running trains, falling in platform gap etc. The district wise fatalities in Mumbai’s Suburban Railway network are given below: Fatalities in Mumbai’s Suburban Railway network due to District various reason Mumbai 1408 Thane 615 Raigarh 128 Navi Mumbai 131 A committee has been constituted to investigate the cause of incident near Mumbra station. The introduction of AC local trains equipped with automatic doors in Mumbai has been a welcome initiative to enhance commuters’ safety and --3/--3- reduce incidents related to overcrowding. The automatic doors prevent passengers from hanging on footboards or boarding moving trains which is a major cause of fatal accidents. These doors remain closed while the train is in motion and open only at stations when the train is stationary, thereby significantly reducing the risk of falls. Increase in frequency of the train services including suburban train services is an ongoing process over Indian Railways subject to operational feasibility, traffic justification and availability of resources etc. To improve the infrastructure in Mumbai suburban railway services, following projects have been sanctioned: SN Name of Project Length Cost (km) (in Cr.) 1 CSMT-Kurla 5th & 6th Line (MUTP-II) 17.5 891 2 Mumbai Central-Borivali 6th Line (MUTP-II) 30 919 Extension of Harbour Line from Goregaon-Borivali 3 7 826 (MUTP-IIIA) 4 Borivali-Virar 5th & 6th Line (MUTP-IIIA) 26 2,184 5 Virar-Dahanu Road 3rd & 4th Line (MUTP-III) 64 3,587 6 Panvel-Karjat Suburban Corridor (MUTP-III) 29.6 2,782 Airoli-Kalwa (elevated) Suburban Corridor link 7 3.3 476 (MUTP-III) 8 Kalyan-Asangaon 4th Line (MUTP-IIIA) 32 1,759 9 Kalyan-Badlapur 3rd & 4th line (MUTP-IIIA) 14 1,510 --4/--4- 10 Kalyan-Kasara 3rd Line 67 793 11 Naigaon-Juichandra double chord Line 6 176 12 Nilaje-Kopar double chord Line 5 338 Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. It envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi- Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1337 stations including 132 stations in the state of Maharashtra have been identified for development under this scheme. Safety is accorded the highest priority on Indian Railways. The various safety measures taken to enhance safety in train operations are as under:- 1. On Indian Railways, the expenditure on Safety related activities has increased over the years as under:- --5/--5- Expenditure on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.) 2013-14 2022- 2023-24 RE BE (Act.) 23 (Act.) 2024- 2025- (Act.) 25 26 Maintenance of 9,172 18,115 20,322 21,800 23,316 Permanent Way & Works Maintenance of 14,796 27,086 30,864 31,540 30,666 Motive Power and Rolling Stock Maintenance of 5,406 9,828 10,772 12,112 12,880 Machines Road Safety 1,986 5,347 6,662 8,184 7,706 LCs and ROBs/ RUBs Track 4,985 16,326 17,850 22,669 22,800 Renewals Bridge Works 390 1,050 1,907 2,130 2,169 Signal & 905 2,456 3,751 6,006 6,800 Telecom Works Workshops Incl. 1,823 7,119 9,523 9,581 10,134 PUs and Misc. expenditure on Safety Total 39,463 87,327 1,01,651 1,14,022 1,16,470 2. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation of points and signals have been provided at 6,635 stations up to 30.06.2025 to reduce accident due to human failure. 3. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates has been provided at 11,096 level Crossing Gates up to 30.06.2025 for enhancing safety at LC gates. 4. Complete Track Circuiting of stations to enhance safety by verification of track occupancy by electrical means has been provided at 6,640 --6/--6- stations up to 30.06.2025. 5. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order. Kavach was adopted as a National ATP system in July 2020. Kavach is provided progressively in phased manner. Kavach has already been deployed on 1548 RKm on South Central Railway and North Central Railway. Presently, the work is in progress on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors (approximately 3000 RKm). Track side works on these routes have been completed on about 2200 RKm as on 30.06.2025. Regular trials are being done on these sections. 6. Detailed instructions on issues related with safety of Signalling, e.g. mandatory correspondence check, alteration work protocol, preparation of completion drawing, etc. have been issued. 7. System of disconnection and reconnection for S&T equipment as per protocol has been re-emphasized. 8. All locomotives are equipped with Vigilance Control Devices (VCD) to improve alertness of Loco Pilots. 9. Retro-reflective sigma boards are provided on the mast which is located two OHE masts prior to the signals in electrified territories to alert the crew about the signal ahead when visibility is low due to foggy weather. 10. A GPS based Fog Safety Device (FSD) is provided to loco pilots in fog affected areas which enables loco pilots to know the distance of the approaching landmarks like signals, level crossing gates, etc. 11. Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Prestressed Concrete Sleeper (PSC) Normal/Wide base --7/--7- sleepers with elastic fastening, fan shaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers, Steel Channel/H-beam Sleepers on girder bridges is used while carrying out primary track renewals. 12. Mechanisation of track laying activity through use of track machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc. to reduce human errors. 13. Maximizing supply of 130m/260m long rail panels for increasing progress of rail renewal and avoiding welding of joints, thereby improving safety. 14. Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD) testing of rails to detect flaws and timely removal of defective rails. 15. Laying of longer rails, minimizing the use of Alumino Thermic Welding and adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e., Flash Butt Welding. 16. Monitoring of track geometry by OMS (Oscillation Monitoring System) and TRC (Track Recording Cars). 17. Patrolling of railway tracks to look out for weld/rail fractures. 18. The use of Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossing in turnout renewal works. 19. Inspections at regular intervals are carried out to monitor and educate staff for observance of safe practices. 20. Web based online monitoring system of track assets viz. Track database and decision support system has been adopted to decide rationalized maintenance requirement and optimize inputs. 21. Detailed instructions on issues related with safety of Track, e.g. integrated block, corridor block, worksite safety, monsoon precautions, etc. have been issued. --8/--8- 22. Preventive maintenance of railway assets (Coaches & Wagons) is undertaken to ensure safe train operations. 23. Replacement of conventional ICF design coaches with LHB design coaches is being done. 24. All unmanned level crossings (UMLCs) on Broad Gauge (BG) route have been eliminated by January 2019. 25. Safety of Railway Bridges is ensured through regular inspection of Bridges. The requirement of repair/rehabilitation of Bridges is taken up based upon the conditions assessed during these inspections. 26. Indian Railways has displayed Statutory “Fire Notices” for widespread passenger information in all coaches. Fire posters are provided in every coach so as to educate and alert passengers regarding various Do’s and Don’ts to prevent fire. These include messages regarding not carrying any inflammable material, explosives, prohibition of smoking inside the coaches, penalties etc. 27. Production Units are providing Fire detection and suppression system in newly manufactured Power Cars and Pantry Cars, Fire and Smoke detection system in newly manufactured coaches. Progressive fitment of the same in existing coaches is also underway by Zonal Railways in a phased manner. 28. Regular counselling and training of staff is undertaken. 29. Concept of Rolling Block introduced in Indian Railways (Open Lines) General Rules vide Gazette notification dated 30.11.2023, wherein work of integrated maintenance/ repair/replacement of assets is planned up to 52 weeks in advance on rolling basis and executed as per plan. --9/--9- The details of the Safety related works related to better maintenance practices, Technological improvements, better infrastructure and rolling stock etc. undertaken by Railways are tabulated below:- 2014-15 to 2004-05 to 2014-25 Vs. S.N. Item 2024-25 2013-14 2004-14 (till March 25) Technological improvements 1. Use of high-quality 57,450 Km 1.43 Lakh Km More than 2 rails (60 Kg) (Km) times 2. Longer Rail Panels 9,917 Km 77,522 Km Nearly 8 times (260m) (Km) 3. Electronic 837 3,691 Stations More than 4 Interlocking Stations times (Stations) 4. Fog Pass Safety As on As on 31.03.25: 288 times Devices (Nos.) 31.03.14: 25,939 90 Nos. 5. Thick Web Switches Nil 28,301 Nos. (Nos.) Better maintenance practices 1. Primary Rail 32,260 Km 49,941 Km 1.5 times Renewal (Track Km) 2. USFD (Ultra Sonic 79.43 Lakh 2 Crore More than 2 Flaw detection) times Testing of Welds (Nos.) 3. Weld failures (Nos.) In 2013-14: In 2024-25: 90 % reduction 3699 Nos. 370 Nos. 4. Rail fractures In 2013-14: In 2024-25: More than 88% (Nos.) 2548 Nos. 289 Nos. reduction --10/--10- Better infrastructure and Rolling stock 1. New Track KM 14,985 34,428 Km More than 2 added (Track km) Nos. times 2. Flyovers (RoBs)/ 4,148 Nos. 13,808 Nos. More than 3 times Underpasses (RUBs) (Nos.) 3. Unmanned Level As on As on Removed crossings 31.03.14: 31.03.24: (nos.) on BG 8948 Nil (All eliminated by 31.01.19) 4. Manufacture of 2,337 Nos. 42,677 More than 18 LHB Coaches times (Nos.) *****