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For Mumbaikars, the morning of 9 June took a tragic turn. As two local trains — one headed toward Kasara and the other toward Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) — raced past each other on adjacent tracks near Mumbra station, 13 passengers clinging to the footboards fell off. Four people, including a GRP constable, lost their lives, while nine others were injured. The guard of the Kasara-bound train was the first to alert that six injured passengers were lying on the down-through track.

The railways initiated an investigation. Swapnil Dhanraj Neela, the chief public relations officer (CPRO) of Central Railway, issued a preliminary statement to the media, attributing the incident to extreme overcrowding. The railway police added that the gap between the two trains was minimal — the incident occurred when the shoulder bags of footboard passengers collided.

While accidents are not uncommon on this route, particularly at the curve near Mumbra station, this is an unusual case — for the first time, 13 passengers from two passing local trains collided and fell off, one by one.

When a fast train moves around a curve, even seated passengers feel the jolt. For those standing on the footboard, it’s lethal. During the monsoon, it’s more risky. As the soil beneath the tracks softens, the tracks are slightly destabilised. It is possible that this minor imbalance caused both trains to tilt toward each other, bringing passengers dangerously close. CPRO Neela also acknowledged that the usual gap between two local trains is about 1.5 to 2 metres. Where the track curves, the gap is narrower.

A visit to the accident site near Pole Number 40/4 at the Kalyan-end of Mumbra station revealed not one but two sharp curves — right at the spot where the incident occurred. Nazim Ansari, vice-president of the Mumbra Pravasi Sangh, said the two major curves — one to the north of Mumbra station and another on the new rail lines at the station itself — could have caused the trains to tilt toward each other.

The grieving family of Rahul Gupta, a victim of the Mumbra train accident (photo: Getty Images)

Anand Maruti Patil, a petitioner who raised the issue years ago, said the railways have admitted to this. A technical survey confirmed that the Kalwa–Mumbra–Diva stretch lies along a curve. Patil noted that according to railway regulations, curves must be given a ‘cant’ — meaning the outer rail must be elevated relative to the inner rail to reduce risk. This results in trains tilting inward when negotiating a curve.

In the wake of such accidents, railway authorities, state and Central governments announce compensation and shed crocodile tears. Over two decades, however, no system has been developed to bring the death toll down to nil. Mumbai’s local trains still run on tracks laid in the British era, carrying 8.3 million passengers daily across 20 hours of operation.

Approximately 2,342 trains operate daily, including 238 AC locals (which usually run empty). Data shows that 7 to 8 passengers die every single day from falling off local trains.

Data collected from the Government Railway Police (GRP) by RTI activist Sameer Zaveri reveals that over the past three years, 7,560 passengers died while travelling on Mumbai locals, and another 7,293 were seriously injured. According to Zaveri, most of these accidents occurred on the Central Railway route, particularly between Thane and Kalyan.

In 2024, Thane and Kalyan reported the highest number of deaths — 387 fatalities and 788 injuries. Kalyan alone recorded 116 deaths and 157 injuries, while Thane saw 68 deaths and 107 injuries. In most of these cases, passengers fell from moving trains.

A decade ago, an expert committee report titled ‘Review of the Rising Trend of Accidental Deaths in Mumbai Suburban System’ warned that the system was operating at 400 times its intended capacity, and would collapse by 2030 if no action was taken. That report now gathers dust.

Every year, Mumbai’s hopes are derailed by the Union Budget

While Mumbai’s lifeline turns into a murder line, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project soaks up Rs 1.08 lakh crore. There’s a glaring need for more trains during peak hours (9–11 am and 5–7 pm). For the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, the Central government handed over 6.4 acres of railway land near Matunga-Mahim to the Adani Group. But when it comes to local trains, the authorities claim there’s no land for expansion.

What are Mumbaikars — neglected and ignored — to do? They jump into the fast local, no matter how crowded, and hang on for dear life. The fear of losing their jobs if they arrive late may cost them their lives.

GRP constable Babasaheb Mukhyadal died on 9 June on his way to work. Ditto for Ketan Saroj, Rahul Gupta and Mayur Shah. Among the injured were Shiv Gawli, Adesh Bhoir, Rehan Sheikh, Anil More, Tushar Bhagat, Manish Saroj, Machhindra Gotarne, Sneha Dhonde and Priyanka Bhatia.

Last year, on 23 April, on this very same stretch, Awadhesh Dubey lost his brother Rajesh. Awadhesh laments that even after that tragedy, no improvements or arrangements to safeguard commuters during peak hours were put in place.

Sameer Zaveri, now 55, lost both his legs in 1989 while crossing the tracks at Borivali. Today, he fights legal battles to save the lives of others. Thanks to his efforts, local trains were extended from 12 to 15 coaches. Even so, overcrowding hasn’t eased. What’s needed is a complete overhaul of infrastructure. Increasing frequency would help, and ensuring immediate medical response at accident sites could significantly reduce fatalities.

Instead of galvanising practical solutions, the issue is hijacked by politics. Overcrowding is wrongly attributed to “outsiders” (i.e. migrants from other states). Even after the Mumbra tragedy, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray reignited this narrative. The real issue — local train safety — gets buried in political rhetoric.

Dilip Pawar, a daily commuter, asks: “If the government can build the Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, why can’t it fix Mumbai’s local train network?”

The question of disproportionate tax contributions has also resurfaced. Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT) pointed out, “Mumbai is India’s financial capital. Yet only three paise of every rupee in taxes collected from Maharashtra comes back to the state.” Mumbaikars are fed up of being lauded for their ‘resilience’. What they want is action and accountability.

To curb public outrage, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw hastily announced that well-ventilated locals with automatic-doors would be introduced by November. How would this miracle occur in five months Way back in 2017, Western Railway failed to implement closed-door locals. Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad demanded that the railway minister apologise for this failure and resign. “This is not the time for politics,” she said, “but for ensuring public safety.”

Even officials are sceptical. Subhash Chandra Gupta, CMD of Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Limited, said the Mumbra accident is not being taken seriously. A regular commuter, Arif Abbas Syed, calls the minister’s new proposal a waste of time and money. “Yes, we need AC locals, but with regular train fares.”

Jyoti Chavan, another daily commuter, shared her own experience: “We travel during peak hours every day. In the evenings, you can’t even get down at Sion station. I’ve fallen twice. This talk of automatic doors is a joke. With people hanging out of the train, how will the door even close?”

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