Day after Elphinstone stampede, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal says spend whatever is necessary on safety

A day after Elphinstone train station stampede, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday held a high-level meeting on railway safety in Mumbai.

In a series of tweets, Goyal said that 'We are turning a 150-year-old convention on its head' making foot over bridge mandatory.

He also said that within 15 months, CCTVs would be installed in Mumbai local trains.

The minister also announced that 13 Foot Over Bridges have been approved for widening in the Western Railway, while 20 new FOBs were approved for the Central Railway. "All the projects will be completed in the next one year," he said while speaking to reporters.

Goyal also shot back at those who were opposing the bullet train project, saying that there was a need for improving railway infrastructure. "I just want them to answer whether they want to continue their suffering and inconvenience their travel?"

We are turning a 150 year old convention on its head, hereafter, FOBs (Foot Over Bridges) will be deemed mandatory not a passenger amenity.

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 30, 2017

200 officers to be relocated from Head Quarters as field staff to strengthen ground operations and project implementation.

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 30, 2017

To eliminate bureaucracy and delays, I have empowered GMs to spend whatever is necessary on safety.

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 30, 2017

Additional escalators sanctioned at crowded Mumbai suburban stations and thereafter for all high traffic stations.

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 30, 2017

Within the next 15 months, CCTV cameras in all suburban trains in Mumbai with monitoring mechanism. Parallel work across India.

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 30, 2017

Delegation of financial & administration powers to field units in two weeks to reduce red tape and push development & delivery

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 30, 2017

Meanwhile, the death toll in the stampede has gone up to 23 with a critically injured person succumbing at the KEM hospital on Saturday.

The dean of the hospital, Avinash Supe, said the victim has been identified as Satyendra Kumar Kanojia who was in his late forties.

"The patient was put on ventilator as soon as he was admitted to the hospital. We tried to save him but he succumbed to internal injuries," the dean said.