'Ashamed how passengers are made to commute in local trains': Bombay High Court
'Ashamed how passengers are made to commute in local trains': Bombay High Court
Noting the high mortality of commuters while travelling on Mumbai local trains, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought affidavits personally vetted by the General Managers of the Central and Western Railways. The court also sought the assistance of Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas to address this serious issue.
"Sorry to use this word. I feel ashamed of the manner in which passengers are made to commute locally," Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya said during the hearing. He expressed hope that the death ratio per thousand commuters would be reduced to below that of London.
The bench of Chief Justice and Justice Amit Borkar was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Yatin Jadhav, a Virar resident who commutes daily on the Western Railway line. The plea highlighted systemic issues leading to a high mortality rate of approximately 2,590 deaths per year. The petitioner's lawyer pointed out that data showed about five deaths per day amongst commuters travelling to college or work.
Advocate Rohan Shah, appearing for Jadhav, submitted that the major causes of these deaths were commuters falling from trains and accidents while crossing railway tracks. He noted that the Mumbai Local is the second-busiest railway system after Tokyo and highlighted that the death ratio per thousand commuters is 33.8, compared to 2.66 in New York and 1.43 in London.
"Coming to college or going to work is like going to war, as the fatalities are more than the number of soldiers dying in active duty," said Shah.
He also argued that while the railway has introduced AC trains with closed doors, the low-income group still travels in non-AC trains due to the expensive tickets for AC trains. Shah emphasised that the capacity, which was previously shared by 10 non-AC trains, is now being managed by 8 non-AC trains, as 2 out of the 10 have been converted to AC trains.
Shah further pointed out that no compensation is awarded by the railways except in cases of train crashes or fire incidents on railway property. He added that deaths outside these two categories are not recorded by the railway and are merely marked as 'Untoward Incidents.'
On the other hand, advocate Suresh Kumar, appearing for Western Railway, stated that in 2019, the high court had issued certain directions regarding infrastructure which had been complied with. He added that all trains and tracks were being utilised at maximum capacity.
The bench immediately responded that the railway cannot escape responsibility by merely claiming to have complied with guidelines.
"If everything is done, have you been able to stop deaths from running trains or deaths due to crossing the tracks? Have you stopped all that? We are going to make officers accountable. The situation in Bombay is pathetic. You can't feel happy proclaiming that you make 33 lakh people commute. You can't say that, considering the number of passengers, you are doing well. You can't take refuge in the large number of commuters. You have to change your attitude and mindset," the bench said.
The court indicated it may consider setting up a committee to conduct a high-level study and suggest measures to address the challenge of passenger deaths.
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