The Bombay High Court has expressed strong disapproval of the overcrowded conditions in Mumbai's local trains, describing the situation as "pathetic" and likening the commute to traveling like cattle.
This statement came during a hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) addressing the increasing number of fatalities among train commuters.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar, voiced their concerns on Wednesday, emphasizing the gravity of the issue. They announced that they would hold senior officials of both the Central and Western Railways accountable for the dire conditions.
The PIL, filed by Yatin Jadhav, highlighted the alarming rise in deaths due to falls from overcrowded trains or other track-related accidents. The bench stressed that the issue is "very, very serious" and must be addressed promptly. "You carry people like cattle. We feel ashamed at the manner in which commuters are made to commute," the court remarked.
The high court directed the general managers (GMs) of the Western and Central Railways to personally review the situation and submit affidavits outlining the measures in place to prevent such mishaps. The court emphasized that these affidavits must be personally vetted by the GMs and detail all available safety measures.
The PIL cited statistics from 2023, revealing that 2,590 commuters died on the tracks, equating to seven deaths per day. Additionally, 2,441 people sustained injuries in the same year. Central Railway saw 1,650 fatalities, while Western Railway reported 940 deaths.
Advocate Suresh Kumar, representing the Western Railway, stated that measures such as installing barricades between tracks and constructing additional foot-over-bridges at stations were being implemented. He noted that these actions were in response to previous court orders.
However, the bench questioned the effectiveness of these measures. "You should not depend only on orders for saving people's lives... Have you been able to reduce or stop deaths?" the court asked.
Kumar mentioned that the Western Railway operates trains at the highest possible frequency, with services departing every 2-3 minutes during peak hours. Despite this, the court insisted that merely increasing the number of trains or their capacity was not the sole solution and called for a change in mindset among railway officials.
The next hearing for the PIL is scheduled for eight weeks from now.