Railway officials responded, saying that earlier attempts to run EMRs with doctors failed due to poor vendor participation. “Instead, we’ve tied up with nearby hospitals to ensure swift medical aid during the golden hour
Transport activist Samir Zaveri proposed urgent measures such as the rollout of 18-car trains to reduce crowding. File Pic/Satej Shinde
As Mumbai’s suburban railway continues to grapple with dangerous overcrowding and daily casualties, city transport activist Samir Zaveri has written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, demanding urgent intervention, including the introduction of 18-car local trains and emergency medical rooms at all stations.
“I had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2008 before the Bombay High Court regarding the urgent need for emergency medical aid and measures to prevent deaths and injuries on Mumbai’s suburban railway network,” said Zaveri, a 90 per cent disabled activist. “The court, through binding orders dated November 10, 2014, and March 10, 2017, had directed the Central and Western Railways to establish and maintain Emergency Medical Rooms (EMRs) at all suburban stations within the Mumbai Division.”
Yet, according to an RTI reply dated January 21, 2025, 15 EMRs that were operational in 2023–24 at stations including Karjat, Kurla, Ulhasnagar, Chembur, Kalyan, Dadar, Vashi, Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Thane, Titwala, Mankhurd, Panvel, and Vikhroli have now been shut down. “Currently, no EMRs are functional at any of the approximately 125 suburban stations in the Central Railway Mumbai Division,” Zaveri said. On the Western Railway side, only 23 of the 37 suburban stations between Churchgate and Dahanu have operating EMRs.
“This is despite continued deaths. RTI information from the Mumbai Government Railway Police shows that between January and December 2024, the Mumbai Suburban Railway network reported 5165 incidents — including 2468 deaths and 2697 injuries,” Zaveri added. To address these risks, Zaveri proposed urgent measures such as the rollout of 18-car trains to reduce crowding and the installation of fire detection and suppression systems on both local and outstation trains.
“The Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) technically approved 18-coach suburban trains in 2008–09. Long-distance trains with up to 25 coaches already operate from Mumbai on the same lines. It’s time suburban stations extended platforms and upgraded to Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling to allow for shorter intervals between trains — potentially reducing the headway from three minutes to two,” he said.
Railway officials responded, saying that earlier attempts to run EMRs with doctors failed due to poor vendor participation. “Instead, we’ve tied up with nearby hospitals to ensure swift medical aid during the golden hour. In the Mumbra incident, for example, all injured passengers were shifted to hospitals within 27 minutes,” an official said.
On the feasibility of 18-car trains, the official added, “It’s not just about platform length. Signalling points, stabling lines, headway, and other infrastructure constraints must also be considered. We are already working on converting more trains to the 15-car format.”
The official highlighted that currently, Central Railway operates only two 15-car trains running 22 services. However, projects worth R16,240 crore are underway to add 301.5 km of additional capacity to the suburban system. These projects include separating suburban and long-distance corridors, reducing the headway to 150 seconds using CBTC signalling, and creating space for 250 additional services daily.
15-car work begins
Central Railway has invited tenders to extend platforms 5 and 6 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) as part of its 15-car train expansion. The work includes realignment of tracks and demolition of an abandoned signal cabin. A 15-car train can increase passenger capacity by about 33 per cent.
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