The Government Railway Police (GRP) data has revealed about shocking numbers of deaths which took place on suburban railway tracks. The data revealed that 2,981 commuters were killed and 3,349 others injured, in 2018.
According to Hindustan Times, 2,330 people died while crossing tracks or falling off running trains While 1,974 people died between January and August, 1,007 lost their lives in the last four months of 2018 and 522 people died owing to natural causes in railway premises through the year. Niket Kaushik, commissioner of GRP, told the leading daily, “Trespassing on railway tracks is one of the main causes [of death]. Overcrowding of trains and illegal entry points [on to railway tracks] have also led to increase in accidents.”
The data revealed that most deaths owing to trespassing – 218 – were at Kalyan railway station, followed by Thane, Kurla and Borivli stations. The data also revealed that there has been a slight drop in deaths, down from 3,014 in 2017. But more women lost their lives in 2018, with 363 deaths in 2018, up from 300 in 2017.
