The increasing number of commuters slipping in the gap between the footboard and platform at most suburban railway stations has led to a rap on the knuckles of both Central and Western Railway (CR and WR) by the Bombay high court for their failure to raise the height of platforms at suburban train stations.
A division bench of Justice Oka, while hearing a public interest litigation demanding better facilities for commuters, questioned, -"In which part of the world is there such a situation, where citizens fall in the gap between the train footboard and station platform and suffer injuries or lose their lives -"
Justice Oka then directed general managers of both CR and WR to submit an undertaking by next week, indicating the time required to complete the work of raising the height of platforms at all railway stations. The court further warned that if the undertaking was not submitted, it would contemplate taking appropriate action.
Referring to the situation in Navi Mumbai where railways was trying to shift the responsibility for raising the height of platforms onto Cidco, the judges said, -"Both agencies seem to be shifting the blame on each other. It has been almost four years that we (court) have passed orders but there has been no implementation. If the railways is collecting fares from passengers, why should Cidco provide facilities -" the court questioned.
