After Elphinstone Road stampede, Sachin Tendulkar wants separate zones for Mumbai railways

Tendulkar had raised the issue in Parliament, but the railway ministry said the process would be difficult to carry out.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has suggested that the Railways divide Mumbai’s suburban rail network into two zones for better management.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (HT Photo)

In a letter to union railway minister Piyush Goyal, Tendulkar suggested that the railway minister and his officials should study the possibility of creating two separate independent zones for the suburban local services.

The separate zone would help in getting dedicated manpower and funds, he said, adding that the request has been made by experts as well as commuters.

Tendulkar had raised the issue in Parliament, but the railway ministry said the process would be difficult to carry out.

“I am sure if we all apply our minds, there must be a way to make things better and decentralize the functioning with adequate oversight. This is a query I had raised in Parliament earlier but the response from the Ministry cited complexity as a deterrent to proceed,”he wrote in the letter.

The Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) had written to Goyal in reference to the Elphinstone Road station stampede on September 29, that killed 23 commuters. He informed Goyal that he would contribute Rs2 crore from his Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds for the widening of the foot overbridges on the suburban network.