Railways ‘track’ record to check trespassers is poor

Incidents of trespassing on railway lines, a common feature in Mumbai, are on the rise in Pune also. The death of an unidentified person, who was trapped under the Kanyakumari Express near Akurdi Railway Station on Sunday night, has once again raised concerns about this grave issue.

In fact, 71 people have lost lives in the past 51 days in Pune this year.

Most of the deaths on tracks have taken place on the Pune-Lonavla route in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area, including the Sunday mishap that affected the railway traffic on the Pune-Mumbai route for more than two hours.

Speaking to DNA, Central Railway divisional railway manager (Pune division), Vishal Agarwal said, “The victim was crossing the railway line near the Akurdi railway station and came under the moving Kanyakumari Express.”

Government Railway Police inspector Mahendra Rokade said, “Most of the mishaps have taken place in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area as there is a sizeable population near the tracks. Locals avoid using the foot overbridges (FOBs) and take a short cut across the railway lines. However, sometimes they misjudge the speed of the approaching train and lose their lives.”

Areas near Pimpri railway station, Akurdi and Khadki have witnessed frequent incident of people getting trapped under the trains. The slums have encroached upon the areas near Pimpri-Chinchwad railway station. In the Akurdi area, the tracks take a large curve, leading trespassers to spot the coming train very late.

The railway authorities’ special drives against trespassers have failed to curb such incidents.

Agarwal said, “We have been making regular announcements at railway stations appealing people to use the FOBs to cross the railway lines, besides taking action against trespassers. Most of the offenders are from the nearby slums. We have also written to the municipal corporations to take action against illegal slums near the railway lines.”