Commuters raise concern over poor crowd management in Thane railway station

“The situation at the Trans Harbour line of Thane station, which falls on platforms 9 and 10, is very bad as the crowd has increased a lot these days. It is completely chaotic, and I have seen stampede-like situations on the stairs of the bridges,” said Anjali Ambekar, 48, a commuter who travels to CBD Belapur for work

Thane: The Thane railway station is yet again in the spotlight with the increasing overcrowding at the foot over bridges, platforms and staircases as commuters raised concerns over poor crowd management on social media by posting pictures and videos.

An official from the RPF of Thane railway station said that they have deployed railway police personnel at platforms that see major crowding during peak hours and woman constables are also deployed near women’s compartments. “There is a requirement for more staff to manage the increasing crowd,” he added. (Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

“The situation at the Trans Harbour line of Thane station, which falls on platforms 9 and 10, is very bad as the crowd has increased a lot these days. It is completely chaotic, and I have seen stampede-like situations on the stairs of the bridges,” said Anjali Ambekar, 48, a commuter who travels to CBD Belapur for work.

“While returning to Thane at 7.15pm there is hardly any space to walk and it also takes 15 to 20 minutes to just move out of the station due to the crowding. The situation is worsening day by day. There is no person to control the crowd and ensure there is no mishap,” she added.

After Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) station, Thane railway station, at 6 lakh daily footfall, has the second highest average passengers visiting the station.

Another commuter travelling from Thane to Vashi for work, Yogesh Mahadik, 45, said, “Very soon a stampede might occur at Thane station due to no crowd management. I have stopped using the bridge since I was pushed down once by a fellow commuter due to the crowd.”

Passenger association representatives have also highlighted the issues of overcrowding several times earlier and said that the authorities will only act if there is an accident or mishap inside the station.

“The authorities are just waiting for a mishap to happen and then wake up. We have mentioned numerous times to increase the trains, platforms, and manage time as well as crowd, however, it never happened. Today, Thane station can anytime repeat what happened at Elphinstone station. We cannot see a single person deployed to manage the crowd at the bridges,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, head of the Upanagariya Railway Pravasi Sangh, Thane.

Some of the measures that can be undertaken is deploying more police personnel on the station to manage the crowd, he said, adding, “Ensure the line system is followed at the bridges. Increasing the frequencies of trains at MMR. If these basic measures are implemented, there will be a change and we can prevent any major mishap.”

Every day, more than 1,000 trains pass through Thane, which has 10 platforms catering to two corridors each for the fast and slow tracks and the Trans Harbour network. As many as 55 to 60 long-distance trains halt at the station.

Chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said, “Our railway police force (RPF) and station staff are monitoring the situation continuously. We have CCTV cameras throughout the station and all the required monitoring systems.”

An official from the RPF of Thane railway station said that they have deployed railway police personnel at platforms that see major crowding during peak hours and woman constables are also deployed near women’s compartments. “There is a requirement for more staff to manage the increasing crowd,” he added.