Dozens of train passengers had a narrow escape at Ernakulam Junction on Saturday when the Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express began moving, even as passengers were boarding the train.
The incident caused a literal stampede at the platform. Many, including women and the elderly had a close shave after they lost balance and fell on the platform as the train picked up speed. A woman and her infant child narrowly missed getting caught between the train and the platform as she held on to the train’s door handle and ran along with the train. She let go of the handle only after fellow passengers shouted at her. A combination of slackness of the Railway’s operational staff and their over zealousness in abiding by the five-minute stoppage time is being blamed for the incident.
“Higher-ups have not paid heed to our repeated requests to increase the stoppage time of this train and a few others at Ernakulam,” said a senior Railway official.
As per the timetable, the train has to arrive here at 9.15 a.m. and leave at 9.20 a.m.
Sixty-six-year-old Mohammed, a heart patient, was among those who were caught in the melee. “A whole lot of people got down from the train and a similar number was waiting in the queue to board it. The train began moving even as people were on the doorsteps of coaches. Some had a foot on the step and another on the platform,” he said.
“There was not a hint that the train would leave the station. We could not hear the siren either. The train’s guard and platform staff should have ensured that the train waited for a minute or even more, till everyone boarded their coaches,” Mr Mohammed said.
He was travelling to Kozhikode after undergoing treatment at the Amritha Hospital here.
Most passengers managed to board the train as the train halted a little away from the platform.
Another passenger Ratheesh Kumar said that the train arrived at the station a few minutes late.
“I was among the few who shouted and told passengers within the train to pull the chain.”
He was travelling with his grandparents to Kozhikode. Even worse was in store for him as he narrated his misery to three travelling ticket examiners.
“They were even more callous than the operational crew and blamed me for boarding the train without giving a written complaint. It was a free-for-all situation and no Railway official was there to tender an apology.”
Mr. Ratheesh Kumar wondered how Railways, which did not show any leniency to passengers at Ernakulam, detained the train at Shornur for over 30 minutes.
“Such trains must stop at busy stations like Ernakulam for one or two minutes more. This was for the first time in my life that I encountered such an experience. The station would have witnessed a carnage if the train did not stop a little away, as a few people could have been caught between the train and the platform,” he said.
Sources in the Railway said that the train’s guard was often unable to see coaches at the other end. There was no one at the platform to ensure that everyone boarded the train, a source said.
Most fatal accidents take place when passengers slip and fall while trying to enter or alight from a moving train. This time, the fault was with the Railways though.
Keywords: Jan Shatabdi Express, Ernakulam Junction, stampede
This was an accident waiting to happen; lucky that it ended this way. To improve punctuality of
trains, Trivandrum Division of Southern Railway had decided to curtail stops at stations, since
early 2012. As a result, trains get the 'green' signal, as soon as they stop at the platform(and not
at the end of the scheduled stop, as earlier). And the Loco Pilots & Guard are responsible for
ensuring an early departure after completion of allotted business at the station.
In the case of TVC - CLT - TVC JanSatabdi(T. No. 12076/2075), atleast 800 passengers detrain
and board at Ernakulam Junction. The sanctioned stop of 5 minutes is just about sufficient to
handle 1600 passengers. But if you take away just 1 or 2 minutes from the stoppage, it is going
to cause havoc(as it happened last day).
So the Railways should either ensure stoppage of 5 mts. @ ERS. Else they should URGENTLY
distribute ERS quota evenly, to all the 16 Second Jan Chair car coaches available in the train.
This would have turned Ernakulam station into a carnage.
With elderly people, women and kids boarding the train, railways need to take more safety measures for a safe travel. Indian railways is still miles behind the standard level of safety measures being employed in all major rail transports in the world.
This is the price we are forced to pay when Railways attempt to achieve punctuality at the cost of
safety of passengers!! SR's TVC division issued an nstruction in early 2012 to improve
punctuality of trains by curtailing stoppages. As a result, trains get 'green' signal as soon as they
stop at platform, despite the sanctioned halt. Now it is left to the Loco Pilot & Guard to ensure that
the train departs in time, after completing the allotted business.
As far as 12076/12075 JanSatabdis are concerned, atleast 700 - 800 passengers detrain &
board these trains from Ernakulam Jn. Ironically, railways have provided just 5 minutes of
stoppage at ERS. Either they should increase the stoppage or quota from/to ERS should be
spread to all the 16 Second Jan Chair Car coaches(including SLRs) available in the train to
ensure faster boarding and detraining. Unless they do something, passengers travelling by this
train is always going to be at risk.
sir,as seen from your news paper a big accident was avoidedin
railways.the railway tracks have been strengthened for more speed with
advanced loco engines.five to 10 minutes late could be adjusted with
more waiting time for trains.passengers in big cities are to board the
train.there is no meaningin keeping punctuality when most of the trains
are running late.if passengers were caught in stampede the railway
minister may go but the loss of lives cannot be avoided.the railways
could give more time for boarding .
Railway is going through troubled times. In all the Stations and in News papers there are reports of deficient service and discontent staff.
I had an opportunity to discuss some railway related issues with a top railway official. He was of the opinion that falling down from the train has increased recently after the Trivandrum Divisional Authorities issued a circular to all stations that the Station Masters should signal the train for starting and it was the duty of the Guard to see that all passengers have boarded. This was termed ridiculous as the Guard would not be in a position to see more than four or five coaches from his last compartment.
Railways should keep in mind that they are playing with human lives which they cannot replenish.
If passengers pull the chain a few times and delay the trains, the
higher ups would finally notice their frustration and come up with a
commonsense policy rather than the current five minute halt.
The guard should have ensured that all the passengers have boarded the train before giving his clearance.If he was unable to see the coaches, he should have got down & ensured that there were no passengers left on the platform. what if a lot of people got caught in between the platform & the bogies? Will the railways do something about such near mishaps elsewhere also?
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