Indian Railways (IR) has taken an initiative to curb the menace of trespassing over the railway tracks. In this context, Western Railway (WR) zone has adopted the policy of ‘Zero Death Mission’. The move aims to effectively deal with and to wipe out this major problem affecting Mumbai‘s suburban section.
The goal of this mission is to reduce the deaths and also spread awareness to its valued customers to take care of their precious life and not to trespass railway lines. The zonal railways has taken several measures to make this initiative ‘Zero Death Mission’ successful.
1. Foot Over Bridges/Escalators/Lifts:-
The railways have installed 13 Foot over Bridges in Mumbai suburban section during the year 2022-23, to ease the passenger flow at stations. It also commissioned 18 Escalators and 15 Lifts, taking the total to 104 escalators and 49 Lifts, during this period.
2. Heights of Platforms:-
The height of the platforms has been raised. This aims at reducing the gap between platform height and the coach doors. The move will enable the passengers to board and deboard safely from trains.
3. Fencing:-
The Western Railway (WR) zone has provided fencing between two tracks in the station area to avoid persons crossing from one platform to another across the tracks. These fencing have also been installed at a few selected locations where trespassing is noticed at the end of platforms.
4. Construction of boundary wall:-
The 8.69 km long boundary wall has been constructed in the Mumbai suburban section. In the previous fiscal, 21 boundary wall gaps have been plugged in.
5. Warning Boards:-
The rail authorities have also placed warning boards at the end of platforms and at the death prone locations to caution the trespassers. The warning boards have also been placed in front of slums along the tracks to prevent people from crossing it.
6. Announcement:-
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have been tasked to make announcements at stations through megaphones to create awareness regarding the perils of trespassing.
7. Emergency medical facilities:-
In order to provide emergency medical assistance, the Emergency Medical Rooms have been opened at all stations over the Suburban section.
Apart from these, the regular drives against the menace of trespassing are also being done by the rail authorities. In the FY 2022-23, a total of 6,600 persons have been prosecuted and fines of more than Rs 14.54 lakhs have been realized.
