Railway passengers flout safety norms

Safety is not a concern for thousands of rail passengers in the city, especially those who travel for short distances regularly.

The number of accidents continues to rise but it does not deter those who are used to travelling atop the trains. Passengers often cross railway tracks while listening to music with earphones on or talking on their mobile phones. For daily passengers, travelling while standing between coaches of the train or on the steps is not a big deal.

Authorities say they cannot force people to follow the safety rules. Local trains are always over-crowded and most of the offenders are office-goers. “At least two dead bodies are found every month near the railway station and 90% of the bodies are of accident victims. Despite warnings, people take short cuts all the time,” said Gurgaon railway station superintendent RK Meena.

Satish Singh, station house officer of the Government Railway Police (GRP) station at Gurgaon said, incidents of drunken men getting hit by trains take place frequently here. “Railway tracks are very accident-prone but safety rules are violated very often,” he added.

According to GRP, 113 dead bodies have been found in 2012 near the Gurgaon railway station area and 49 have been found so far this year.

Of the total dead bodies found last year, 71 were of accident victims. While 15 people died naturally, 26 of them committed suicide. One of the bodies was of a murder victim. A total of 79 bodies have been identified.

Besides, sometimes bodies are found away from tracks and such cases are handled by the civil police.