Disabled girl falls in platform-train gap, injured

The varying height of platforms has led to several mishaps on the suburban trains in the recent past. On February 22, a handicapped girl had a narrow escape.

The varying height of platforms has led to several mishaps on the suburban trains in the recent past. On February 22, a handicapped girl had a narrow escape.

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Sunanda Dadarao Shinde, 23, slipped while boarding a Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-bound train at Thakurli station due to the excess gap between the platform and train. Shinde, who sustained head injuries, was rushed to the Shastrinagar Hospital at Dombivli.

Shinde said, “I was saved by commuters, who immediately pulled me out of the gap. The railway should take action against the person responsible for constructing it.”

Railway passenger associations claim that the distance between the height of platforms and the train footboard is too much and commuters often tend to fall in this gap, especially if they are trying to board a train in motion. “Commuters have been complaining about the height of platforms at stations like Kalyan, Thakurli, Dadar and Dombivli,” said Lata Argade, member, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh. The ideal distance between the platform and the tracks is 840-960mm. “We have raised the height of platforms at several stations so far,” said a senior CR official.

Stations on the Central and Harbour line where the height has been raised are Badlapur, Mankhurd, Sewri, Ulhasnagar, Tilak Nagar, Mulund and Diva. “The main problem lies with the height of trains from the tracks,” said Vidyadhar Malegaonkar, chief PRO, CR.