Plea moved seeking safety doors for EMU and MRTS trains

The division bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and Justice Nirmal Kumar before whom the PIL came up on Friday issued notice to the Additional Government Pleader on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu and to the standing counsel of the Railway to file a counter by August 7. 

Advocate K Sathish, who filed the present PIL on referring to the recent accident that occurred along the tracks at St Thomas Mount Railway Station on July 24 killing four people on the spot and injuring several others, submitted that the accident clearly revealed the failure of the Railway management in taking any secured steps to prevent these accidents. 

Further, referring to the Metro rail in which the doors automatically close immediately after the commuters’ egress and ingress, the petitioner said such a facility has not been introduced in EMU and MRTS trains forcing commuters to travel on them dangerously, especially during the heavy rush during the peak hours when office-goers and students largely use them. 

Stating that it was duty of the Railway management to forthwith install safety doors in each compartment to prevent such incidents in future, the petitioner added that the national carrier ought to have installed safety doors on trains to control crowds getting into such busy suburban trains.