Death on rail tracks due to lack of foot-over-bridges

BENGALURU: Adithya Anil Kumar, a trainee with UTA Aerospace Systems, was killed on the spot after a train knocked him down at the Hoodi railway station on Tuesday. The death of the 24-year-old who was trying to cross the tracks signals lack of passenger safety and absence of foot-over-bridges in many suburban railway stations.

Data collected from four railway police stations that supervise the railway stations in Bengaluru show over 600 deaths on railway tracks in the past one year. This number also includes suicides.

On Tuesday alone, three people including Adithya died on railway tracks. Two others died at Whitefield and Bangarpet railway stations. “Fed up with road traffic, Adithya was exploring train commute from Baiyappanahalli to his workplace in East Bengaluru,” the railway police said, quoting his parents who live in the western part of the city (Rajarajeshwari Nagar).


In October this year, ET had reported the plight of train commuters at the Hoodi railway station. With no foot-over-bridge, passengers have no option but to jump on the track and climb the platform on the other side. This is impossible for senior citizens although some women and children use the station despite lack of such basic facilities.

Besides Hoodi, stations such as Carmelaram, Heelalige, Anekal, Krishnadevaraya, Hebbal and Jnanabharathi too do not have foot-over-bridges forcing people to walk on the tracks.

“At least 400 people de-board at the Carmelaram station where ten major trains stop. Jumping from track to track and climbing the platform is what everyone does. The station urgently needs a footover-bridge,” Ginson George, a resident of Carmelaram, said.

Krishna Prasad, a retired government employee, said the foot overbridge at the Yesvantpur railway station could be of much use if it is further extended to the first floor of the metro station.

Sanjeev Dyamannavar, an urban affairs expert, pointed out that people cross railway tracks at the Whitefield station as the platform’s skywalk is not connected to the skywalk near the bus stand. The Cantonment station too needs a footover-bridge on its far end, he said.

A railway police officer, however, pointed out the people’s urge to take short-cuts ignoring their safety. “We see many of them crossing the tracks even where there is a foot-overbridge. We have fined people and sometimes they run away. In some cases, people are so preoccupied with their mobile phones that they do not know what’s happening around,” he said.

Lakshman Singh, coordinator (engineering), South Western Railway, said the ministry is funding the construction of a foot-over-bridge at Carmelaram while PC Mohan, MP, Bengaluru Central, has funded a similar project in Hoodi. “Depending on the size, each foot-over-bridge roughly costs ?1 crore,” Singh said.

COMMUTERS TOO ARE CARELESS

We see many commuters crossing the tracks even where there is a foot-over-bridge. In some cases, people are so preoccupied with their mobile phones that they do not know what’s happening around.