Overcrowding a major factor for casualties: Activist

As casualty figures on Mumbai's suburban rail network continues to rise, commuters claim it's because trains are getting increasingly crowded, and services aren't increasing at the same rate as passenger numbers. The number of daily passengers on Central and Western Railways has risen from 70 lakh in 2010-11 to 78 lakh today.

Commuters have now taken to social media to air these grievances. Those traveling on Central Railway are mentioning delays in the Thane-Diva project, which is an issue of concern since there are three level crossing gates north of Thane that open up frequently. With a bottleneck created, the situation worsens for commuters.

"People are unable to even board trains during peak hours now. The situation needs immediate attention, as projects are running for years on end," said Madhu Kotian, president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.

On the Western line as well, overcrowding is one of the chief factors causing casualties. "In the last 10 years, over 147 people have died on the tracks between Mira Road and Dahisar. There is no space for running more trains," said activist Rajkumar Chorge.

Railways says that there are a lot of issues, like rehabilitation of project-affected people, which cause these delays. Also, lack of coordination between different agencies and petitions being filed in court worsens the delays.