From new signages inside trains to messages on social media, the Delhi Metro has started a new safety campaign in the wake of a recent incident in which a woman suffered fatal injuries after her saree got caught in a train door.
In addition, digital screens mounted at major stations and those in trains are also playing awareness videos specially made to educate commuters about precautions to be taken to ensure their safety while boarding and alighting a train, according to a senior official of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The new signage is akin to the sticker-type signage already seen inside the train coaches. It depicts a saree-clad woman urging passengers to ensure their clothing or belongings do not get caught in the doors. The message is displayed in both Hindi and English. The move comes in the wake of the incident that took place on December 14 at the Inderlok Metro Station here. The 35-year-old woman, Reena, succumbed to injuries later at Safdarjung Hospital.
She was dragged along the platform as her sari got caught in the door of a metro train. The woman is survived by her 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. The DMRC already makes announcements in trains advising passengers to take care of their clothing or belongings while boarding or deboarding, the official said.
“In the wake of the recent incident, additional measures are also being taken to install such (safety message) signages on train doors and gates of Platform Screen Doors (PSDs) across the network,” the official said. At the Central Secretariat and the Chandni Chowk metro stations, digital screens are playing videos seeking to build awareness among passengers on metro travel safety.
The videos also warn that closing a door using a bag, foot or any other object is a violation. The official said Section 67 of the Delhi Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, states that obstruction of metro trains can attract punishments such as imprisonment for a term extending up to four years, or a fine which may extend to Rs 5,000 or both. The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) is holding an inquiry into the December 14 incident.
The DMRC has said that it would provide a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the next of kin of the passenger. In addition, the transporter has said it would bear the education expenses of her two children. A DMRC official earlier said a train door makes three attempts to shut. If it remains obstructed, the respective door remains in “open condition and the train doesn’t move”. The door is closed again by a train operator or a train controller as applicable. If a door fails to close, then it is isolated, he had said.
Asked how many such cases of commuters obstructing doors are reported in a month by the DMRC, the official said, “One-two such cases are observed through random surveillance daily.” .
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