Saturday 30 August 2014

In case of emergency, BREAK chain?

                “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY PULL CHAIN” these words are familiar to regular commuters in the locals in Mumbai. It is expected that the train will halt at the nearest station and the matter investigated –which also could well be a matter of life and death. But this is not what happened when a person in his teens fell off from the train between Andheri and Jogeshwari. When the commuters tried to pull the chains – in fact three different chains as the train did not show signs of slowing down- one snapped as it was rusty.
                The incident occurred around 8.30pm on Thursday 28th August, after the Andheri-Vasai local had just departed from Andheri. A teenager standing on the footboard of the train fell off the train just before Jogeshwari. Commuters started pulling the chain to try and stop the train to save his life. When the chains were pulled, the train did not show any signs of slowing down, instead it gained speed. One of the chains snapped as it was rusted. The commuters then called the helpline number and informed them about the incident. The motorman gave the emergency chain pulling signal at Borivali, which was a good 15 minutes after the incident. This could have caused the death of the individual. At Borivali station, we don’t know his fate!
                This is not an isolated incident where the ineffectiveness of the chains has been pointed out. In the recent past many incidents could have been avoided only if the chains were functioning properly. Last month, in another incident, when a 20 year old girl fell off between Khargar and Mansarovar stations of Harbour Line, commuters tried to pull the chain, but the train did not stop.
                These incidents point to a very serious issue of safety and security in local trains. There are about 600 deaths caused by falling off trains – as reported by leading newspapers- every year in Mumbai. Saving every life should matter to the authorities. Another very serious issue is the safety and security of travelers late at night especially in the women’s compartment. If there is a threat to them, their first instinct would be to pull the chains and hope for help to arrive soon. When they pull the chain and it breaks or if the motorman reacts 15 minutes later – as it happened in the incident of the youth falling off - a lot of damage will be done.

                The railways must ensure that their installed facilities are more functional before trying to hike the railway fares to provide “better facilities” to commuters.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Its so scary.. The state of Mumbai railways is getting worse day by day...

Unknown said...

Its something we see everyday n yet we are totally oblivious to the impact of defect... thanks for bringing it up... hope we can all take an initiative

And plz mention your name while posting

Unknown said...

Hey,
It's really an eye-opener. I haven't encountered anything like this while traveling. Thanks for bringing it up Aniketh. What can we as a class do about it? Just from top of my head,Maybe we can go talk to the authorities and do something about it to figure out a way or make a social awareness campaign. What say? Any ideas?

Unknown said...

Train safety is something I feel really strongly about!!! I am TERRIFIED when it comes to traveling on Indian trains. With the hike in prices and all, facilities need to improved, or if anything need to be functioning properly!!! So many people's lives are at stake.

I definitely agree with you there Tejasvi!! Was just about to post this. It's our responsibility I feel as citizens, and media trainees to not only bring awareness to this but DO SOMETHING about it.

For Media Mirror, train safety could be one of our campaigns. Speak to authorities, passengers, think of solutions, share them with others.

What more guys???

Unknown said...

Train safety is something I feel really strongly about!!! I am TERRIFIED when it comes to traveling on Indian trains. With the hike in prices and all, facilities need to improved, or if anything need to be functioning properly!!! So many people's lives are at stake.

I definitely agree with you there Tejasvi!! Was just about to post this. It's our responsibility I feel as citizens, and media trainees to not only bring awareness to this but DO SOMETHING about it.

For Media Mirror, train safety could be one of our campaigns. Speak to authorities, passengers, think of solutions, share them with others.

What more guys???

Unknown said...

Aniketh:
First, I am so happy that you responded immediately in the way you did. This is what we wish for all of you while in a course like SCM. Life continues while we may be in class, but true learning happens outside in our day-to-day lives. You obviously were very upset by this (you've repeated yourself in the post). Train travel and train safety is such an integral part of our lives in Mumbai. Like the others who have responded, I think it is a good idea to make this part of a campaign among the different projects you do as part of this course.
Cheers! Thanks n sorry for this late response.