Mumbai: The tragic incident near Mumbra station, where 13 passengers fell from a moving local train, has reignited serious concerns over safety in Mumbai’s suburban railway network. Former General Manager of Central Railway and ex-Member (Engineering) of the Railway Board, Subodh Jain, has weighed in on the mishap, blaming a combination of internal crowd force and the growing risk posed by bulky backpacks.

The accident occurred on Monday morning between Mumbra and Diva stations, triggering widespread outrage among daily commuters and rail users who have long complained about inadequate infrastructure, infrequent trains, and poor crowd control during peak hours.

Jain termed such mass-fall incidents as “extremely rare” but indicative of systemic failure. “An incident where multiple passengers fall simultaneously due to internal jostling is highly unusual and points to serious lapses in crowd management and train capacity planning,” he said.

He emphasized that it wasn’t an external collision or track-related issue but rather the intense internal pressure inside an overcrowded coach that likely pushed commuters out. “The overcrowding is such that even a small imbalance or movement can create a chain reaction,” Jain added.

The former top boss of Central Railway also flagged the unintentional danger posed by modern-day commuter habits, particularly the use of large and heavy backpacks. In overcrowded coaches, backpacks protruding from the bodies of standing passengers can inadvertently brush against those hanging at the train’s edge, causing them to lose balance. This risk multiplies when two packed trains pass each other at close range.

“Backpacks may seem harmless, but in a packed moving train, they can act as destabilizers. When a commuter is hanging at the edge and gets nudged by a backpack — even slightly — the result can be fatal,” he explained.

When asked about the track curvature at the accident site, Jain stated that although the curve may have worsened the situation, it cannot be regarded as the main cause of the incident

Jain also provided a technical breakdown of train spacing, noting that the minimum distance between two tracks in Mumbai’s suburban section is about 4.5 metres. With a train width of 3.66 metres and allowing 150 mm for dynamic sway, the remaining net clearance is approximately 690 mm. “This space is generally enough to accommodate the body sway of a standing or hanging passenger, provided the overcrowding remains limited to one direction,” he said.

However, Jain acknowledged that there are exceptions. Some narrow sections, such as the stretch between Masjid and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), have reduced track gaps. In these high-risk areas, speed restrictions are already enforced to minimize risk.

Blaming the prolonged delay in crucial infrastructure projects like the 5th and 6th line corridors, which have remained stagnant for over a decade on both the Central and Western suburban railway systems, former Railway Board Member Subodh Jain stated that the expansion of the suburban network has been severely hampered. As a result, the level of overcrowding has significantly worsened.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray described the Kasara Mumbra train accident as unfortunate and said that travelling by railway is the most difficult thing. In the evening, the platform is so crowded that it is difficult to board the trains. Despite this, passengers travel by railway. There is no planning in the cities. This is the reason why the condition of the railway is poor. Accidents happen to those travelling by railway every day. Cities are only building skyscrapers in the name of development projects, in which there is no parking arrangement. The traffic problem is the same as it is. The traffic problem in Mumbai and Pune police stations is very worrying.

The burden of passengers on the railway has increased. There is no separate arrangement for the people of Mumbai in the railways. The condition of the passengers is bad, but the media has nothing to do with these problems. Instead of running the news of when Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray will come together, if they had drawn the government’s attention to these problems, a solution would have been found. Cities will not develop with metro and monorail alone. Despite metro and monorail, vehicle registration has not stopped. There is no study of who travels by metro and monorail. The problem of traffic on the roads still persists. In such a situation, there is a need to pay attention to urban problems. I demand the Ministry of Railways to pay attention to this.

Mumbai: Local slum dwellers have started a phased hunger strike in an attempt to hide slums due to the beautification of Kurla Sheetal Pond. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Pond is a religious pond and Ganpati and Devi are immersed here. This year, cement pillars have been installed on the banks of the pond to hide the slum dwellers adjacent to the pond, which has angered the people.

Nationalist Congress Party Ajit Pawar Group leader and social activist Ghanshyam Bhapkar had started a hunger strike on this issue, but due to his deteriorating condition, he was taken to the hospital. But now local people have started joining this hunger strike. Now this hunger strike has turned into a phased hunger strike. Ghanshyam Bhapkar, who is on hunger strike, alleges that this work has been done to hide the slums, whereas if any accident happens, it will be difficult for the slum dwellers to escape and this also endangers the safety of the residents. There is opposition to this project, but the BMC administration is adamant and the work is going on, that is why we are also on a hunger strike. When Assistant Municipal Commissioner of Kurla L Ward Dhanji Harlekar was asked about this matter, he did not receive the call. Bhapakar has alleged that the people living in slums are worried about these cement pillars. This work has been done only to hide the slums, which is not acceptable to the public. He said that if there is a fire in Sangdewadi, then this is the only route from where people can be evacuated, but this is also being stopped. Making serious allegations, Bhapakar has called it a conspiracy to close the way to Sheetal Lake for the people living in slums. A campaign has been started to save Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Lake and a hunger strike is also going on in this regard.