CR and WR

Charmi Pasad

Dombivali and Kopar

Central Railway

Western Railway

suburban trains

Untitled Carousel Women from Thane, Kalyan are quitting jobs due to over-crowded local trains With travelling in trains comes at a cost, commuters often struggle even to enter into the compartment and face the ire of fellow passengers which leads to a verbal fight and even altercations. Now, some women commuters from Thane and neighbouring Kalyan have quit their jobs only due to travelling issues.

Government Railway Police

From left: Charmi Pasad, Subhash Ghadigoankar and Savita Naik

Combinedfigures reveal that the stretched-to-the-seams Mumbai locals carry close to 25 to 28 lakh passengers extra on Mondays.Dombivali resident, 22, who died after falling off a train on Monday, December 16, betweencould be one of the many victims of a phenomenon the railways is struggling to come to grips with – the Monday surge.Combinedandfigures reveal that the stretched-to-the-seams Mumbai locals carry close to 25 to 28 lakh passengers extra on Mondays. While theon an average carry 82 lakh passengers every day, the number rises to over 1.10 crore on Mondays – that’s a rise of over 30 per cent.On an average, the passenger load on CR’s local trains increases by 15 lakh passengers on Mondays, going up from weekly average of 45 lakh to 60 lakh. On the first Monday of this month (December 2), 60 lakh people rode CR locals. The number rose to 68 lakh on the third Monday of the month.The Western line carries, on an average, 37 lakh passengers every day. This number swelled to 54 lakh last Monday (December 16). On the first Monday of this month (December 2), 47 lakh passengers rode WR locals and the number rose to 49 lakh on the second Monday of the month.While the Monday rush is a common feature across all of the world’s big cities, robust transport systems are able to absorb the pressure. But Mumbai’s suburban section, where the railways had to come up with a new term – super-dense crush load – for rush-hour passenger load, the Monday surge is proving to be life-threatening.According to the, nearly half of the incidents of passengers falling off crowded trains during the morning and evening rush hours take place on Mondays.-------------------------------------------, 22Fell off a train between Dombivali and Kopar on, 25Fell off a train near Andheri on, 22Fell off a train between Dombivali and Kopar on------------------------------------------In November 2019, the Western Railway recorded 25 cases of passengers falling off trains. Out of these, six incidents happened during the rush hour and three of them on Mondays. In December (figures available only up to the 17th of the month) the Western Railway recorded four cases of passengers falling off crowded trains, two of these mishaps took place on Mondays.In November 2019, the Central Railway witnessed 32 cases of passengers falling off trains. Out of these, eight cases occurred during rush hours and four of them on Mondays. In December (up to the 17th of the month), Central Railway has recorded four cases of passengers falling off, two of these mishaps took place on Mondays.A majority of incidents of passengers falling off trains have been recorded during non-peak hours. This is possibly so because the railways record passengers falling while boarding and alighting also as “falling-off” incidents. However, these incidents can’t always be assigned to over-crowding.Satish Pawar Senior Police Inspector, Dombivali GRP, said even anecdotal evidence suggests trains are more crowded on Mondays. “I often feel that platforms at Dombivali are more crowded on Monday mornings as compared to other days. If additional trains can be run on Mondays, it will be helpful,” he said.Passenger association and transport experts have demanded that railways must fix the Monday surge problem. The railways, however, claim that they are running at peak capacity. “I knew that on Mondays the number of passengers rises, but I had no idea it goes up so much,” said transport expert Ashok Datar.Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer, Western Railway, said it will be only possible to add new services after some infrastructural work, that is currently on, is completed.Shivaji Sutar, Chief Public Relations Officer, Central Railway too said running extra services in the current scenario seems tough. “We are trying to complete the 5th and 6th lines between Diva and Thane as soon as possible. Once the two lines are in place, introduction of some more services between Thane and Kalyan will be possible.