Mumbai's deadly commuter trains

More than 20,000 people have been killed on Mumbai’s notoriously overcrowded train system over the past five years — many of them crushed, run over or electrocuted — according to official data.

Mumbai’s trains are the lifeline of India’s financial capital, carrying some 7 million commuters every day, but an average of 10 people don’t survive the trip each day.

India’s Central and Western Railway was forced this week to release the harrowing data, showing at least 20,706 people have died over the past five years, after a Mumbai activist, Chetan Kothari, filed a request under the country’s Right to Information Act.

“There should be more awareness that it’s just not worth the risk. Many people who die are the sole breadwinners of their family,” Kothari said.

Chronic crowding blamed
Officials blamed chronic overcrowding and reckless behavior by passengers for most of the fatalities.

“No other city in India has so many people traveling by one mode of transport. There are a minimum of 10 deaths daily on the railways,” railway commissioner A.K. Sharma told The Associated Press.

Commuters routinely struggle to find space in the coaches, with many forced to hang out the doors or hold on to iron bars over the windows.

During morning and evening rush hours, some commuters — their bags slung across their shoulders — balance on the roofs of the electric-powered trains despite the danger.

“The maximum deaths are due to people falling off crowded trains and electrocution of people sitting on the top of the train,” Sharma said. He said many others were hit by trains when they tried to run across the tracks instead of using bridges.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

'I was really scared'
Commuters said riding the trains is a frightening and dangerous experience but they have little choice.

“When I started traveling by train two years ago I was really scared when I saw the crowd and the way you get pushed into the train,” said Sameera Hinat, a 21-year-old student.

Despite the risk, she prefers standing near the open doors. “At least you get some air to breathe,” she said.

The railways try to deter reckless behavior, fining those who sit on the roofs or run across tracks up to $13, Sharma said.

But only about 100 people are fined each day, and most people ignore the threat.

“People are in a hurry. They want to save five minutes to get home or to the office quicker,” he said.