Railways Push For Safety Measures After Stampede At Mumbai Station
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal took stock of safety measures across Mumbai's suburban rail network in a high-level meeting on Saturday, a day after a stampede at the Elphinstone Road station left 22 dead and several injured.
A number of major decisions were taken in the meeting wherein passenger safety was accorded the highest priority, said a media statement by Western Railways authority.
All foot-over bridges, platforms and pathways will now be treated as safety items having the higest priority “with no restriction of budget”, said the release. Earlier, only the first foot-over bridge was considered essential and the subsequent were counted as “passenger amenities”.
We are turning a 150 year old convention on its head, hereafter, FOBs (Foot Over Bridges) will be deemed mandatory not a passenger amenity.
September 30, 2017On Friday, a crowd of several hundred commuters gathered on a narrow footbridge to seek cover from rain during the morning rush hour. With multiple incoming trains, the bridge soon became overcrowded and chaos ensued.
Additional escalators will be sanctioned at Mumbai local stations having high footfalls, the release said, adding that final details will come in the next 15 days.
The General Mangers of Railways Zone have also been given "powers without limits" in safety-related issues for the next 18 months.
Other major decisions include:
- CCTV cameras to be installed inside all suburban trains with monitoring mechanisms in the next 15 months. This shall be done in parallel across India.
- 200 officers will be relocated from the Churchgate headquarters to the field, for strengthening ground operations and project implementation.
- Better deployment of station directors at 75 key stations all over India.
- Delegation of financial and administration powers to field units by October 2017 to reduce red tape and push development.
The meeting was also attended by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani, Western Railway General Manager A.K. Gupta and Central Railway General Manager D.K. Sharma.
Also Read: In Photos - Mumbai's Spirit Crumbles After Elphinstone Stampede
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