Parel railway station
Parel is a railway station on the Central Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, serving the Parel neighbourhood of Mumbai. The next station south is Currey Road; the next station north is Dadar. A footbridge links Parel on the Central Line to Elphinstone Road on the Western Line.
Parel railway station was opened in 1877.[1] Platforms 3 and 4 are reserved for employees of the Parel railway workshop, and platforms 1 and 2 are open to the general public.[2]
The station sells around 2.2 million tickets each year.[2]
Foot over-bridges
Parel railway station has only one foot over-bridge (FOB) on the southern side of the platform. This creates problems for commuters during peak hours. Due to this, commuters used to cross the tracks on to the adjoining platform 3 and use the FOB of that platform. This prompted the Railways to put up a fence between the platforms in order to stop commuters from crossing the tracks. This has increased the pressure on the over-bridge even more and hence forced the Railways into assigning the Railway Protection Force and Home Guard to help commuters cross the bridge and prevent any stampedes. They also protect the commuters from any approaching trains.[3]
A major stampede on the footover bridge on the morning of 29th September 2017 has been a result to the death of almost 22 people and injuring more than 35 people. Some died at the spot as a result of crushing and falling under rushing commuters. Rest died on the way to the hospitals. Parel station usually gets the crowd due to peak office hours regularly. The bridge has also been reported to be shaky. Commuters have blamed the one and only bridge connecting both stations which can't handle the raging crowd sometimes. The Railways have reportedly been investigating the matter. There were only 2-3 Railway Police Force officers at the time of stampede and the local police arrived almost 45 minutes after the incident was reported.
References
- ^ "Central Railway / Historical Milestone". Central Railway. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b Binoo Nair (22 October 2013). "Parel station: A commuter's worst nightmare". DNA. DNA. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Commuters need RPF help in crossing bridge". Mid Day. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.