Why people cross railway tracks?
A recent article about loss of young lives while attempting to cross railway tracks depressed me and so I decided to write this blog. I am surprised why people cross railway tracks even at stations like Parel. Here, the cost of a mistake is extremely fatal and still people take the risk. The economic value of the time you save by crossing the railway tracks can never, I repeat never be more than the economic value of your life.
Years ago, I used to stay in Malad East. Regular commuters are aware that trains from Churchgate are most likely to halt at platform No 1. If people wanted to go the Eastern side, many would tend to jump off the train on to the opposite railway track and save a couple of minutes. The time consuming option of taking the available foot bridge was conveniently discarded. During my commute those days I witnessed an accident at Malad station and made a firm resolve never to even attempt to cross the railway tracks. Your colleagues and train mates may make fun of you but using the footbridge significantly reduces risk to your life and at the same times gives you a little exercise.
What irritates me is that when someone dies because of their own fault, why is there is so much anger against the motorman and the railways. What can a GM sitting in Churchgate do to prevent such things? If the RPF gets stricter and imposes fines or wields the stick, there is uproar against them. The railways do their part of building fences and track dividers. In fact, to create awareness about the risks associated with crossing railway tracks, Western Railways even coined smart SMSes which it sent out like – ‘If you are fond of donating blood, do not do it on the tracks’ and ‘Short-cuts can cut your life short. Use FOBs and subways’.
