A mid-day audit covering the three railway lines of the city found that the six-inch unseen bolt that holds the doors of Mumbai’s trains in place were jammed, broken or missing altogether in many of local trains, especially on the Central Railway’s (CR) Mumbai section, putting lives of thousands of commuters at risk
A missing bolt in Coach No. 2071A of a train on Central Railway (right) Status: A bolt that is on the verge of falling off in Coach No. 2071A on Western Railway. PICS/RAJENDRA B AKLEKAR
The six-inch unseen bolt that holds the doors of Mumbai’s trains in place is one of the most crucial yet overlooked pieces of hardware on the suburban network. A mid-day audit covering the three railway lines of the city has found that these mechanisms were jammed, broken or missing altogether in many of the city's local trains, especially on Central Railway’s (CR) Mumbai section.
Coach No. 2197B
Status: Bolt missing
The problem is more acute with CR, as it has a fleet of 113 older trains, compared to just 12 on Western Railway (WR). In 2025 alone, 525 lives were lost due to falling from trains, and as many as 1188 commuters were injured in such mishaps.
Coach No. 2072A
Status: Bolt hole not matching
How doors are secured
Four types of trains are operated on the Mumbai suburban network. The older Siemens-make, procured under phase 1 of the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP); the Bombardier and Medha ones, procured under phase 2; and the BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) ones, which are mostly the AC trains.
Coach No. 2071A
Status: Bolt missing
It is the locks of the first three categories of trains that are important, as they run with open doors. Among them, it is usually on older Siemens trains that ‘faulty’ bolts can be found. The other two — Bombardier and Medha — have more modern safety locks.
Coach No. 2071B
Status: Bolt parts missing
The hyper-bolt
Coach No. 1134A
Status: Bolt parts broken
There is a ray of hope — bolt design has changed for the better, with new-generation trains having an anti-bounce safety latch with a curved metal plate at the top where pushed doors get locked. This is in addition to a round cylindrical door stopper in the middle, which replaces the older mechanical triangular metal handle
Coach No. 2251B
Status: Bolt parts missing
The mechanics
Older Siemens trains have mechanical spring-loaded door bolt latches with small levers. Since these are put to heavy use and suffer massive wear and tear, they need to be maintained well. But in most trains, they have either fallen off, jammed or do not fit the door frame due to poor workmanship.
Coach No. 2157B
Status: Bolt missing
Owing to poor maintenance, these are not in the best condition. In addition to this bolt at the top of the door, there is a sliding bolt in the middle of the door, which is a triangular metal handle pushed sideways that secures the door frame mechanically
Official Speak
Coach No. 2205B
Status: Bolt broken and parts missing
WR officials said they would ensure that all faults are fixed in a time-bound manner. CR officials said door bolts are routinely inspected. “Any damaged or loose bolt is replaced during checks at car sheds. Instructions have also been issued to maintenance staff to ensure the fittings remain in proper condition,” an official said.
Coach No. 2071A
Status: Bolt broken and falling off
mid-day’s findings
A physical audit on all three lines in Mumbai found that these bolts are ill-maintained in most trains, broken in many, or even missing in a large number of trains, putting Mumbai commuters’ lives at peril.
Coach No. 2071A (first class)
Status: Bolt broken
Commuter Voices
Siddhesh Desai, vice-president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh
‘The poor condition of doors in Mumbai local trains — with broken locks, loose rods, and damaged handles — is a serious safety concern. In overcrowded trains, commuters are forced to stand at the doors, and due to these faulty, unlocked doors, they lack proper support. This significantly increases the risk of passengers losing balance and falling from moving trains. Neglected door maintenance has become one of the root causes of railway accidents and requires urgent attention from the authorities’
Uttam Ghosh, commuter
‘These are all design issues which are usually not given serious thought. In this case, I am sure the railway engineers also did the same. For example, how big a nail one needs to drill into a wall to hang a photo frame’
Bharat Soni, commuter activist
‘This is a disaster waiting to happen. Millions of commuters are expected to travel safely, yet the doors of non-AC local trains still depend on such flimsy, outdated mechanisms. These locks fail without warning — doors swing open or give way, endangering passengers. This is sheer negligence. How many more close calls before this is taken seriously? Replace these weak, unsafe locks with robust, fail-safe systems immediately. Passenger safety cannot be compromised’
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