The recent death of Dombivli resident Riya Rajgor, who fell from a crowded train near Kopar station, has sparked renewed concerns about overcrowding on Mumbai's suburban railways. Railway passenger associations are warning Central Railway of protests unless solutions are found and implemented swiftly. They blame recent fatalities on decisions such as running mail trains on local tracks and delays in completing vital projects like the Kalwa-Airoli link. However, Central Railway contends that reducing the frequency of summer-special trains and mail expresses, as well as local trains, is not feasible, citing the need to maintain a balance.
Commuter associations from Dombivli are appealing to increase the boarding trains from Dombivli as they claim that the trains are already packed at the Kalyan station itself. The reason for this is passengers from Diva, Mumbra, Kopar come at the Kalyan station, usually half an hour earlier so that they can get seats in the train. “Hence, the passenger density is lot at Kalyan station itself, This negatively affects Dombivli commuters as the over-saturation keeps on increasing,” told Lata Argade, the secretary of the Suburban Railway Pravasi Mahasangh to LokmatTimes.com.
The number of people falling off the trains and dying is just too huge to ignore. According to reports, 139 people died in such incidents over the last three months along, which makes about three people dying every two days.
Argade stated, “Since 3 to 4 years, we are demanding Thane to Kalyan and Kasara shuttle services. There is no proper planning by CR. There are no adequate trains from Dombivli. If we look at the 3rd and 4th lines of Thane to Kalyan, there are lot of accident chances between Mumbra and Diva due a the curve created. The middle class is suffering a lot due to the overcrowding. There should be a special committee by Maharashtra government to look at this issue.”
“Authorities at the Railway Board must immediately ban mail and express trains from the new Thane-Diva track and fast-track the long-pending Kalwa-Airoli link project, even if it means forcibly evicting slum dwellers obstructing the work,” told railway activist Siddhesh Desai of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh. "Politicians need to stop prioritizing vote banks over passenger safety, or commuters will be forced to risk their lives by walking along the tracks," warned Desai. He explained that the Kalwa-Airoli link will segregate Navi- Mumbai bound rail passengers from the main line services from Kalwa.
Some women railway activists told that there is a deadly crowd in the ladies compartment and the railway should increase the ladies special trains and AC trains from Dombivli and bogies for women. “Central railway should crack down on hawkers who illegally enter these designated areas,”told a woman railway activist.