Commuters back on tracks in Mumbai, walls, fences can’t stop them

Central Railway says 41-km boundary wall to be completed by March 31 to stop trespassing

From scaling walls to removing wire fences, commuters have devised numerous ways to cross tracks in the city, despite the Central Railway (CR) constructing a 41-km boundary wall along the suburban railway network to prevent deaths owing to trespassing.

Trespassers walk under a foot overbridge (FOB) in Dadar. (HT)

Ten to 12 people die daily while commuting on the city’s suburban railway network and approximately half of these deaths occur while crossing tracks, according to data obtained from the Government Railway Police (GRP).

The CR started building the wall in January after Union railway minister Piyush Goyal directed officials to control trespassing on suburban railway tracks on December 13, 2018.

Of the 139 trespassing-prone locations identified by the Railway Protection Force (RPF), GRP and railways officials, work on the boundary wall has been completed between Chinchpokhli-Kurla and Bhandup-Nahur stations.

However, over the past few days, railway officials have noticed that commuters travelling from Bhandup and Nahur stations have placed cement bags near the new boundary wall to scale it and cross the tracks. Similarly, even after the railways sealed off the trespassing points near Dadar station, passengers have removed the wired-fencing at platform number six to cross the tracks.

Last week, local residents even protested against the construction of the boundary wall along the Sanpada line claiming the foot overbridge was far away and crossing the tracks was an easier option.

“Passengers should not trespass as they are risking their lives to save a few minutes. The boundary walls are being constructed at the identified locations and will be completed by March 31,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR.

Passenger associations are of the opinion that the railways should engage the city police and social workers to educate passengers about the dangers of trespassing.

“Earlier, people used to break the boundary wall and trespass, and now they are cutting the fences or placing bags to climb the boundary walls. Railways should get the city police of the area to initiate a door-to-door awareness campaign along with social workers,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.