The accident near St. Thomas Mount railway station on Thursday in which three persons died and four others were severely injured has come as a wake-up call to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP).
The two forces plan to intensify their campaign to sensitise commuters to the risk of footboard travelling. The accident occurred when the backpack of a commuter travelling on an Chengalpet-Chennai Beach EMU got entangled on an iron ladder fixed to a signal post. Officers said the ladder was not bent before the incident.
The four injured persons who are undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital were out of danger, said a senior GRP officer.
GRP and RPF officers plan to ramp up their weekly awareness campaigns at stations including Chengalpet, Tambaram and Guindy. Pamphlets highlighting the dangers of footboard travel and walking on the tracks, as well the need to use foot overbridges are distributed.
A senior RPF officer said the signal ladder had been intact before the accident occurred.
This was in response to an unsubstantiated charge that it had been bent and therefore caused the accident. He added that had the ladder been bent, it would have been repaired by the signal department. He noted that the number of deaths reported on the stretch between Palavanthangal and St. Thomas Mount stations was relatively fewer.
Activists noted that unless more trains were operated, it was difficult to prevent footboard travelling.
The two forces plan to intensify their campaign to sensitise commuters to the risk of footboard travelling. The accident occurred when the backpack of a commuter travelling on an Chengalpet-Chennai Beach EMU got entangled on an iron ladder fixed to a signal post. Officers said the ladder was not bent before the incident.
The four injured persons who are undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital were out of danger, said a senior GRP officer.
GRP and RPF officers plan to ramp up their weekly awareness campaigns at stations including Chengalpet, Tambaram and Guindy. Pamphlets highlighting the dangers of footboard travel and walking on the tracks, as well the need to use foot overbridges are distributed.
A senior RPF officer said the signal ladder had been intact before the accident occurred.
This was in response to an unsubstantiated charge that it had been bent and therefore caused the accident. He added that had the ladder been bent, it would have been repaired by the signal department. He noted that the number of deaths reported on the stretch between Palavanthangal and St. Thomas Mount stations was relatively fewer.
Activists noted that unless more trains were operated, it was difficult to prevent footboard travelling.