The freak accident on the Delhi Metro, involving a woman whose sari got caught in the train’s doors is a blot on the impeccable record of India’s best run urban transport system. The 35-year-old woman was dragged along with the train for about 200 metres before she was thrown on the tracks. She suffered severe injuries and succumbed to her wounds two days later.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has launched an inquiry but as per the safety protocol, if the doors encounter an obstruction, a safety mechanism is activated. The doors automatically open and attempt to close three times. If the closing process fails after three attempts, the doors remain open and manual intervention is required by the station controller to close them. Emergency alarm buttons are also available inside the Metro so that the train operator can be alerted if there is any problem. All these checks and balances appear to have failed in this instance leading to the horror that was witnessed on the tracks.
The Delhi Metro is the pride of the nation with its vast network and efficient running but it is such incidents that will dent commuters’ confidence. The capital has greatly benefited by the Metro as it has contributed to reducing pollution. More and more people opt to travel by the Metro because it is convenient and quick, saving people from long commutes and consequent parking problems. A speedy inquiry into the mishap is the need of the hour and its findings should be widely disseminated so that people are aware of what actually happened.
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