Big dip in deaths on Mumbai’s railway tracks

Despite regular news reports of people coming under local trains, statistics have shown a significant fall in the number of deaths on Mumbai’s railway tracks. The fall from 2,448 in 2008 to 2110 in 2009 has been attributed to concrete walls - 7 feet high and a foot wide - constructed on both sides of the tracks.

TA Chavan, railway police commissioner, said, “Since the past two years, the railway administration has been constructing these walls to deter people from trespassing.”  

Senior divisional security commandant of Railway Protection Force, NC Padhi (Central Railway), said, “We have carried out a drive against trespassers since. In 2009, we collected over Rs75.76lakh in fines from 25,999 people; 196 people were jailed. Our aim is not just to collect fines, but to save lives,” he said.