Kolkata, 11 June (H.S.):

In a major move to enhance commuter safety, Indian Railways has decided to redesign local train coaches with automatic doors, akin to those in metro systems. The decision follows Monday's tragic incident in Mumbai, where four passengers died and several others were injured after falling from an overcrowded moving train.

According to railway officials, the redesigned non-AC local trains will feature automatic sliding doors that open only when the train halts at a station and close after boarding and deboarding are complete. The initiative is aimed at preventing accidents caused by passengers falling from open doors, a recurring safety issue in crowded suburban networks.

Officials from the Eastern Railway confirmed that the rolling stock division of the Railway Board has already begun working on the new coach designs. The new trains are expected to be ready by November this year, with full deployment starting January 2026. Initially, the upgraded rakes will be introduced in Mumbai’s suburban network, later expanding to other densely populated corridors across the country where overcrowding in local trains is common.

One of the challenges in implementing this change lies in maintaining proper ventilation inside coaches, as open doors currently provide a natural airflow. To address this, each coach will be equipped with a rooftop ventilation unit to ensure fresh air circulation even when doors remain closed. Additionally, vestibules connecting coaches will remain open, allowing passengers to move freely between compartments.

Railway engineers acknowledged that replicating the metro-style door system in local trains comes with technical challenges. Unlike metro trains, where doors do not close if even a minor obstruction is detected, similar sensitivity in local trains could cause operational delays. Therefore, the design is being tailored to account for the dynamic conditions of suburban rail operations.

Officials from the commercial department of Eastern Railway noted that Sealdah station alone handles between 1.4 to 1.5 million passengers daily. Routes such as Sealdah-Naihati, Sealdah-Bangaon, Sealdah-Diamond Harbour, Sonarpur-Canning, and Baruipur-Namkhana regularly witness extreme crowding in local trains.

While many existing local trains already have sliding doors, the upcoming upgrade will automate these systems to bolster safety without significantly altering current infrastructure.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh