Railway staff dies in on-duty accident at CSMT Station

A young railway staff member working as a points man with Central Railway (CR) died on duty at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) station on Tuesday afternoon. The incident occurred while he was coupling the engine of the Konark Express with its coaches

Mumbai: A young railway staff member working as a points man with Central Railway (CR) died on duty at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) station on Tuesday afternoon. The incident occurred while he was coupling the engine of the Konark Express with its coaches.

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Rail officials said the accident occurred around 3:10 pm on platform 16. Suraj Seth, the 23-year-old victim, was coupling the locomotive with the Mumbai-Bhubaneshwar Konark Express when the locomotive allegedly backed up while he was still in the vicinity, resulting in him being crushed between the two.

Railway unions have raised concerns about the lack of supervision and manpower shortages in the safety category within Indian Railways. “It seemed that there was no one supervising when this incident occurred. There is a severe shortage of manpower, especially in safety categories, which needs urgent attention,” said a leader of the National Railway Mazdoor Union.

Authorities said that Seth had been employed on compensatory grounds following his father’s death, who was also a rail employee. “We have been demanding improvements in safety measures for our staff. He was a young man in his mid-twenties,” commented a union leader from the Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh.

Incidentally, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, announced that out of the ₹2,62,000 crore allocated in the Budget 2024-25, over ₹1,08,000 crore will be allocated specifically for safety categories.