The Mumbai division of Central Railway conducted its first survey to find out why so many people died on its tracks. A team of three guards and three motormen, under the supervision of the operations department, carried out the survey. Binoo Nair brings you the why, what, where and how of what the team discovered  Despite repeated warnings, people continue to cross railway tracksWho
The survey team consisted of motormen, B P Jadhav, J V Gomes and A E Boldrey and guards, R A Gangal, A K Jagdale and U S Kubal, under the supervision of Divisional Operations Manager (coaching) Mahendra Birhade and Assistant Operations Manager George Eapen.
How
After a brainstorming session with Eapen, the team of six was asked to travel in trains, in the guard and motormans cabins, during different periods of the day between February 3 and 7. The Mumbai division was further broken into five sections namely CSTM-Thane, Thane-Kalyan, Kalyan-Asangaon, Kalyan-Belapur and CSTM-Panvel. They were asked to prepare a report and submit it to Eapen. What now
The report, which was submitted to Central Railway Divisional Railway Manager Madhav Pathak, has the following recommendations to reduce the number of accidents on the tracks:
* Fencing near the Mazagaon Yard
* Building the Sion-Matunga boundary wall
* Building a subway at Kurla
* Building boundary wall between Mulund-Bhandup
* Fencing sections at Kalwa at the CST-end and building a FOB at Kalyan-end
* Fencing on either side of Mumbra due to hutments
* Heavy prosecution of offenders at Diva station
* Building a FOB at Shahad
* Building boundary walls at Ulhasnagar and Ambernath
* Setting up buzzers at curves where people cannot see approaching trains
* Setting up whistle-freely signboards for motormen to warn trespassers Alternative plan
Choosing one station and manning it with the railway police and Railway Protection Force personnel and ticket checkers to apprehend the maximum offenders. These security forces would plug broken walls so that people do not cross tracks. Keep station under observation for a week and match results with the pre-plan period.
Where do we go from here?
Now we have to be focussed. Take up the top three or four very vulnerable locations and go for total solutions. There is just no point taking on too much and getting bogged down. Some solutions might take time but we have to get there. It is after all a matter of human lives. This is a good start. Now we have to sustain it. Madhav Pathak
DRM, Mumbai Division, CR
Some responsibility had to be fixed for the term TPRO (tresspasser run over). The DRM told us that while we had figures on such deaths, something concrete had to be done at the ground level. Now we all have to get together and make sure the railways and commuters help each other and reduce deaths.
Mahendra Birhade Divisional operations manager (coaching), CR
Guards and motormen who ply their trains know best about where the problems exist and even some of the solutions. So we chose a set of people who had raised their concerns about TPROs earlier. When they were given the opportunity, they did a fine job with the survey.
George Eapen
Assistant operations manager (coaching), CR  Modus operandi
The problem was to be addressed according to:
* Railway station and sections between railway stations
* Time when a certain area is most vulnerable
* The reason why people were tempting fate
* Grading a station according to density of people crossing railway tracks. The symbols used
Local trains stop at railway stations for at least 15 to 25 seconds. This is not enough time for a motorman in the front or the guard at the rear to jot down every question asked by the survey sheet. So symbols were used and crossing of tracks was graded (see The findings). A meant in every 15 to 25 seconds that a train stopped at a station, at least 30 plus people crossed the tracks. B meant 20 plus people and C meant less than 15. Further the surveying team was given the right to classify certain very dense areas as A+.
The reasons why a person crossed the tracks was further symbolised:
* A triangle meant crossing tracks despite the presence of foot-over-bridges (FOB)
* A circle meant call of nature and defecation alongside tracks
* R meant heavy density of railway employees crossing tracks
* Two parallel lines denoted feasibility of FOB on the spot The findings Station Location Grade Close to railway station Thane Both ends (CSTM and Kalyan) A Mulund Both ends (CSTM and Kalyan) B Kanjurmarg Kalyan-end (kms 24/15 &24/13) A Kanjurmarg CSTM-end A Vikhroli CSTM-end A Ghatkopar CSTM end on UP and Down line B Vidyavihar On platform (students) C Kurla Both CSTM and Kalyan-end A Parel CSTM-end (kms 7/10 to 7/6) A Masjid All four lines A Sandhurst Kalyan end through Mazagaon yard A Kalwa CSTM/ Kalyan-end (kms 35/6 to 35/10) A Mumbra CSTM/ Kalyan-end (kms 39/14 to 40/3) A Diva Level crossing gate (kms 42/3) A Dombivali Kalyan-end (kms 48/6 to 48/7) A Thakurli Gate (kms 49/6) A Dombivali CSTM-end (kms 47/13) B Northeast railway stations Shahad Kalyan-end at kms 56/10 to 56/14 A Southeast railway stations Vuthalwadi CSTMend at kms 55/4 and 55/13 A Ulhasnagar CSTM end at kms 57/2 to 57/3 A Ambernath CSTM end (kms 59/8 to 59/14) A Badlapur Karjat-end (kms 67/11) A Harbour line CSTM Platform nos 1 & 2 Kalyan end A Dockyard Both ends (drug addicts and call of nature) A Reay Road Both ends (drug addicts and call of nature) A Sewri Platform nos 1& 2 A Wadala Both ends A Chembur Both ends of platform A Mankhurd Both ends of platform 1 & 2 A Nerul Both ends of platform A Between station Mulund-Bhandup kms 29/15 to 29/01 call of nature A Mulund-Bhandup kms 27/10 under FOB B Kanjurmarg-Vikhroli kms 23/14 to 23/1 defecation A Kurla-Sion kms 13/14 to 13/15 under FOB B Sion-Matunga kms 12/10 to 11/1 to 11/4 to 12/5 A Byculla-Sandhurst kms 3/12 to 2/15 sales tax office nearby A Kalva-Mumbra kms 38/8 to 13/13 boundary wall broken B Thane-Diva kms 34/8 to 35/7 hutments A Northeast section Kalyan-Shahad kms 53/12 to 53/27 trespassing A Southeast section Kalyan-Vithalwadi kms 54/8 to 54/18 trespassing A Harbour section Cotton Green-Sewri kms 5/15 to 6/11 defecation A Wadala-Guru Tegh Bahadur kms 11/4 to 11/5 trespassing A Guru Tegh Bahadur kms 11/18 to 13/4 A Khandeshwar-Panvel kms 11/18 to 13/4 trespassing A Bad timing
The dangers along the tracks were broken up into time periods with both peak hour periods going as per the list above. Apart from this the survey team found certain stations showing signs of trouble during the mornings and afternoons, the reasons being people defecating along the tracks and students of schools near railway stations crossing tracks to get home. * Pre-morning peak (6 am to 7.45 am), for defecation at Sion-Matunga, Kurla (CSTM end), Mulund-Bhandup, Thane-Diva
* Educational institution dispersal time (11.30 am to 2.30 pm) at Kurla, Vidyavihar, Bhandup and Thane (Kalyan-end) <
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