Goyal to hold meeting with Railway Board officials

A day after the rush hour stampede at a Mumbai station claimed 22 lives, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has convened a meeting of full Railway board today to take stock of the ongoing infrastructural works on the suburban train network.

The meeting will be held at the Western Railway's headquarters at Churchgate.

A senior official said, "The minister held a marathon meetings yesterday. He has convened a full board meeting today at Churchgate that will be attended by the Chairman of Railway Board and all the principal department heads."

"The minister has taken yesterday's incident very seriously and this is why he has convened a full board meeting today once again," the official said.

He said Parel terminus project is likely to be executed on a fast-track mode and several measures will be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

"Additional FoBs will be planned at other stations where foot-falling is high and movement of commuters is not smooth,"

the official said.

"The railway minister has asked the officials to chalk out a clear plan to revive the entry and exit points of all the suburban stations," he added.

At least 22 people died and over 30 were injured in the stampede that took place yesterday on a narrow foot-overbridge (FoB) that connects the Elphinstone Road on the Western Railway to Parel on the Central line.