logo
Women cling to moving train after Kalyan Ladies Special delayed 40 minutes; video goes viral: ‘Daily chorus of bonafide passengers'

Women cling to moving train after Kalyan Ladies Special delayed 40 minutes; video goes viral: ‘Daily chorus of bonafide passengers'

Indian Express10-05-2025

The local trains — Mumbai's lifeline — carry lakhs of commuters across the city. They're fast, cheap, and often the only option for many. But for women taking the 'Ladies Special' from Kalyan recently, the daily grind took a dangerous turn. A 40-minute delay during peak hours led to overcrowded platforms, packed compartments, and many women chose to cling to the footboard, risking their lives to get to work.
A video from the scene showing women balancing precariously on the edge of the train, squeezed by the rush and left with no safe space, have gone viral.
#ViralVideo #CRFixLocalTrainDelays Today's Ladies Special from Kalyan was delayed by 40 mins, forcing women to hang on the footboard—an unsafe and risky commute. Railways term this dangerous, yet delays continue. @AshwiniVaishnaw pls review delay data. @MumRail @rajtoday pic.twitter.com/vnhxTIyFD6
— Mumbai Railway Users (@mumbairailusers) May 9, 2025
One local commuter group posted the video along with the caption, 'Today's Ladies Special from Kalyan was delayed by 40 mins, forcing women to hang on the footboard–an unsafe and risky commute. Railways term this dangerous, yet delays continue.' The post also had Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Railways of India, tagged.
It drew swift attention. RailwaySeva responded, saying the matter had been 'escalated to the concerned official,' and in another reply, tagged Central Railway RPF, asking them to look into the issue.
The comments under the post reflect public frustration. An advocate commented, 'It is a daily chorus of Bonafide passengers and tax payers, @AshwiniVaishnaw Hon'ble Minister should take appropriate actions to save the life and Lifeline of MMR citizens.'
A user wrote, 'Mumbaikar are fighting there own war government of Maharashtra is hardly concerned.' Another user commented, 'No one forced them. They just value their life less. There is always a next train late to waise bhi hua hai.'
This wasn't the only troubling news from the railways. Just days ago, a YouTuber was reportedly assaulted by pantry staff on a train at night, allegedly for filing a complaint about overpriced food. Couple of days ago, Ministry of Railways gave an update on the issue on X, writing, 'After a detailed investigation into the incident involving the mishandling of a passenger on Train No. 14609 Hemkunt Express by the on-board catering staff, @IRCTCofficial has terminated its catering contract with Hotel Rajasthan with immediate effect.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Political row erupts over Mumbai local train tragedy: ‘Rail mantri has become reel mantri'
Political row erupts over Mumbai local train tragedy: ‘Rail mantri has become reel mantri'

Mint

time11 hours ago

  • Mint

Political row erupts over Mumbai local train tragedy: ‘Rail mantri has become reel mantri'

A political row erupted over the Mumbra train mishap that led to the falling of eight passengers from a crowded local trains on Monday. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray came down heavily on Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw amid chaos over the death of four passengers in the incident, and labelled him as "reel mantri". Aaditya Thackeray said the Mumbra railway mishap was the responsibility of the railway department and the minister. However, Thackeray added that the minister was busy making reels instead of taking responsibility. "Rail mantri has become a 'reel mantri'. There have been multiple terrible train accidents in the last two to three years, but no one is coming forward to claim any responsibility. This is solely the responsibility of the railway department and the railway minister. Sadly, he is busy making funny speeches in comic voices and reels but not coming forward to take responsibility," Thackeray said. Thackeray also said that despite people demanding his resignation on multiple occasions, he carried on with his post. "People of India have demanded his resignation multiple times, but he has no shame. He carries on," Thackeray, Shiv Sena UBT MLA from Worli, told reporters in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, Raj Thackeray criticised the Mahayuti-led state government of only focusing on elections instead of real issues of the people. "The train accident that happened in Mumbai today is unfortunate. Many passengers died in this accident, but similar incidents are happening in Mumbai every day. Passengers are getting injured in Mumbai every day and yet no one is doing anything to help," the MNS chief said during a press conference on Monday. "Our entire focus is only on the elections and campaigning. Will Raj Thackeray-Uddhav Thackeray form an alliance? More important than this question are how travel is going in Mumbai today, how people are living in the cities and in the state as a whole," he added. As many as 13 people were injured after they fell from an excessively crowded train at Mumbra railway station in Thane district, Maharashtra, on Monday. Four people died in the incident, a Railways official said on Monday. According to officials, the incident happened when passengers travelling on the footboard on a local train from Kasara and similarly those on a train going towards CSMT, collided with each other and fell. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Monday that he had spoken to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw about the Mumbra train accident. He said that steps would be taken to prevent such accidents in the future. "I am confident that the injured will recover... I have spoken to our Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw... Work is being done to ensure that such an accident does not happen again... Certainly, the Railways is taking this accident very seriously," Shinde said.

After Thane Train Mishap, Railways To Deploy Closed-Door Non-AC Rake By January
After Thane Train Mishap, Railways To Deploy Closed-Door Non-AC Rake By January

NDTV

time20 hours ago

  • NDTV

After Thane Train Mishap, Railways To Deploy Closed-Door Non-AC Rake By January

Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Following the Mumbra train tragedy, the railways will redesign suburban trains to include automatic door closures by January. New designs will enhance ventilation and safety, addressing past suffocation issues while improving passenger comfort and movement. Mumbai: In the aftermath of the Mumbra train incident in which four persons were killed and nine injured on Monday morning, the railways said it would redesign a suburban rake to install automatic door closure systems by November and induct it into service by January next year. At least four commuters, including a GRP constable, died and nine were injured when 13 passengers fell after those hanging from the footboard of two overcrowded trains and their backpacks brushed against each other as the trains passed in opposite directions. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and senior Railway Board functionaries held an urgent meeting with the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) team to find a practical solution to the challenges surrounding automatic door closing systems in non-AC local trains operating in Mumbai, officials said. After detailed deliberations, it was decided that a new design for non-AC suburban coaches would be developed to resolve the ventilation issue through three major design modifications, a Central Railway official said here. ""First, the new coaches will feature louvers on the doors to allow natural airflow even when the doors are closed. Second, roof-mounted ventilation units will be installed to pump fresh air into the coaches. And third, vestibules will be added between coaches to enable passenger movement and better distribution of the crowd inside the train," the official said. This new trainset will be in addition to the ongoing production of 238 air-conditioned (AC) local trains being manufactured under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), he informed. The primary concern with automatic door closing in non-AC coaches is the issue of suffocation due to reduced ventilation, which has raised serious safety and comfort concerns among commuters, officials said. They pointed out that an automatic door closure system was tested on a suburban local on Western Railway a decade ago but it failed due to suffocation complaints from passengers as well as other issues. Presently, Central Railway has 157 suburban locals, including seven AC locals, while Western Railway has 95 suburban locals, of which eight are air-conditioned locals. CR operates 1810 services every day. The figure is 1406 for Western Railway. More than 75 lakh passengers use these 3200-odd services every day, making the network the largest public transporter in the city and among the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai train accident: Railways mull new non-AC trains with automated door closure facility
Mumbai train accident: Railways mull new non-AC trains with automated door closure facility

The Hindu

time21 hours ago

  • The Hindu

Mumbai train accident: Railways mull new non-AC trains with automated door closure facility

After four persons died and six others were injured when they fell from a local train in Mumbai due to overcrowding in peak hours, the Railway Board has said that new, non-AC trains would be designed and manufactured with automatic door closure facility to prevent accidents. The deadline for introducing the first prototype of such a non-AC train with door closure facility in the Mumbai Suburban Railway network has been fixed as January 2026. Sources said that in the wake of the incident in Mumbai, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Railway Board officials held a meeting with a team from the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF). A senior Mumbai-based Railway official told The Hindu that the Mumbai Suburban Railway network currently has 250 rakes in use. Each rake of the train has 12 passenger coaches. Of these 250 rakes, only 30 rakes are air-conditioned, and the rest are non-AC. Currently, non-AC rake coaches in Mumbai local trains are not fitted with closing doors. 'The older rakes may be gradually phased out; it won't happen overnight,' the official said. Earlier, officials from the Railway Board had stated that all rakes in service would be redesigned, and door closure facility would be provided for these rakes. But during the meeting, a major issue of retrofitting automatic doors in non-air conditioned trains leading to suffocation because of reduced ventilation was discussed, sources said. After detailed discussions, it was decided that new, non-AC trains would be designed and manufactured, and the key issue of ventilation would be resolved using three design changes. 'Firstly, the doors will have louvres. Secondly, coaches will have roof mounted ventilation units to pump in fresh air. Also, the coaches will have vestibules so that passengers can move from one coach to another and balance out the crowd in a natural way,' the sources said. Officials who attended the meeting said that ICF Chennai had been entrusted with the task of designing a prototype of the new non-AC train. 'The first train of this new design will be ready by November 2025. After the testing and certification by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, it will be placed in service for feedback from the people by January 2026,' a senior official said. The official added that, earlier, a similar yard trial had been conducted on non-AC trains in Mumbai locals, and it was noticed that closure of gates led to carbon dioxide levels going up by 2.5 times. 'The new design will be created to avoid such increase in CO2 levels,' the official said. Officials stated that the decision to introduce newly designed non-AC rakes with automatic door closure facilities was in addition to the 238 AC trains being manufactured for Mumbai suburban train services. The official Indian Railways spokesperson refrained from commenting on the total cost of introducing the new non-AC trains in Mumbai suburban network, stating that the costing could only be worked out once the ICF submitted the prototype designs in November later this year. 'The approximate cost of manufacturing a non-AC train currently in service in the Mumbai Suburban Network is close to ₹20-25 crore, and their average life is nearly 18 years,' a Mumbai-based Railway official said. While introducing new non-AC trains with automated door closure, officials said that the Railways would also have to consider passenger congestion in Mumbai local trains. While a 12-coach rake in a non-AC Mumbai local train has a seating capacity of 1,200, another 1,800 persons can stand in the rake, but during the 'super dense crush load period', commuters travelling in one rake cross over 4,000, officials said. M. Jamshed, former Member, Traffic, Railway Board, said that in 2018-19, the Indian Railways carried 4,784 million commuters, of which 40% (over five million commuters daily) travelled in Mumbai on the Central and Western Railways. 'Comfort and safety, however, remain serious concerns. The Railways, in its affidavit given to the Mumbai High Court in 2024, indicated over 51,000 deaths on Central Railway and Western Railway systems in last 20 years. This number has significantly reduced to about 2,590 and 2,468 in 2023 and 2024, respectively,' Mr. Jamshed told The Hindu. He added that measures to minimise these incidents must be aimed at reducing the per local train 'super dense crush load', which is that of 15 persons per square metre of space during peak hours. 'Whether the door closing can be done with these numbers is debatable,' Mr. Jamshed said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store