Local trains for Mumbai Suburban to have automatic door closing system: Railway Ministry

The Railway Ministry has decided to provide automatic door closing systems in coaches of existing and new local trains for Mumbai Suburban, a senior official said on Monday after four passengers died and six were injured when they fell from a moving overcrowded local train in Thane district.

Officials said that in the wake of the unfortunate incident, the Railway Minister and Railway Board officials held a detailed meeting, and the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, has been tasked to manufacture non-air-conditioned local trains with automatic doors for Mumbai Suburban.

“The first train of the new design will be ready by November and after necessary tests and certification, it will be put into service by January 2026,” Dilip Kumar, executive director, information and publicity, Railway Board, told PTI.

“This is in addition to the 238 AC trains already under manufacturing for Mumbai suburban services,” he said.

The officials said work is also underway to re-design the existing non-AC local trains to address the issue of ventilation so that they too can be fitted with automatic door closing systems.

The Railway Minister and Railway Board officials held a detailed meeting with the ICF, Chennai team on Monday, officials said.

“The purpose was to find a practical solution to the issue of automatic door closing in local non-AC trains in Mumbai. The major issue with automatic door closing in non-AC trains is suffocation because of reduced ventilation,” a railway official said.

Kumar said that detailed discussions took place and it was decided that new non-AC trains will undergo three major design changes to resolve the key issue of ventilation.

“First, the doors will have louvres. Second, coaches will have roof mounted ventilation units to pump in fresh air. And third, the coaches will have vestibules so that passengers can move from one coach to another and balance out the crowd in a natural way,” Kumar added.

Four commuters died and nine were injured after falling off two overcrowded local trains in Maharashtra’s Thane district during the morning rush hour on Monday, officials said.

Chief Public Relations Officer of the Central Railway, Swapnil Nila, said the victims were travelling on the footboard of the two trains, one travelling towards Kasara and another travelling towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai.