In a tragic incident, at least five passengers, including a Government Railway Police (GRP) constable, died and six others were injured after falling from overcrowded local trains in Maharashtra's Thane district today. According to reports, they were travelling on the footboard on a local train from Kasara and similarly those on a train going towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) . They collided with each other and fell.
According to railway authorities, 12 people fell off the two trains. Central Railway CPRO Swapnil Neela said, “It is not a collision. In this incident, the passengers travelling on footboards in trains in opposite directions got entangled. This is one of the suspected reasons for the incident, as informed by a passenger.”
He added, “The distance between two trains is 1.5-2 meters, but on curves, a slight tilt happens, and this could be an additional reason for the incident.”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote on X, “Deeply pained by the incident where 8 passengers fell from a local train between Diva and Mumbra stations, unfortunately leading to loss of lives. I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. We stand with them in this difficult time.”
He added, “The injured passengers had been immediately rushed to Shivaji Hospital and Thane Civil Hospital and are under medical treatment. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. The local administration is closely coordinating all efforts. The Railway department has initiated an inquiry to find out the exact cause of the incident.”
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity (EDIP) at the Railway Board, told ANI, “we are exploring the possibility of installing door closer facilities in the racks that are currently in service. Then, we will provide automatic door closer facilities for all these rakes in a phased manner.”
