Fatal Crossings: Why Vidarbha’s Railway Tracks Claim Lives Year After Year

Fatal Crossings: Why Vidarbha’s Railway Tracks Claim Lives Year After Year

Every morning before dawn, families living near railway lines in Vidarbha begin a ritual that has become dangerously routine. Women cross active railway tracks to fetch water.

Workers take shortcuts over the rails to reach factories on time. Children navigate between trains on their way to school. For thousands of residents across the region, railway tracks function not as transportation infrastructure but as unavoidable pathways through daily life.

This normalisation of risk has produced a death toll that rises with grim consistency each year.

Between January 2020 and March 2023, the Government Railway Police in Nagpur Division recorded 708 deaths on railway tracks within their jurisdiction. The number increased from 155 fatalities in 2020 to 190 in 2021, then to 298 in 2022. By the first quarter of 2023, 65 more people had died. This five-year progression reveals accelerating tragedy.

The sheer scale of these numbers demonstrates the systemic nature of railway fatalities in Vidarbha.

Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra, encompasses major urban centres including Nagpur, the state's second capital, along with Amravati, Akola, Wardha and surrounding districts. The Central Railway network runs extensively through this territory, connecting cities and industrial zones while simultaneously creating zones of lethal hazard for the populations living adjacent to the tracks.

The deaths documented by railway police fall predominantly into specific categories that reveal patterns in how people die. These patterns have persisted despite repeated intervention attempts.

The Mechanics of Death on the Tracks

The primary cause of fatalities remains crossing railway tracks at unauthorised locations. In Nagpur Division between 2020 and the first quarter of 2023, crossing tracks while on foot accounted for 157 deaths out of the total 708 recorded during that period. In 2020 alone, 46 people died attempting to cross tracks.

The number held steady at 46 in 2021, then increased to 53 in 2022. By the first three months of 2023, 12 more people had been killed crossing tracks.

These deaths occur at multiple types of locations. Level crossings, both manned and unmanned, account for a portion of fatalities. Pedestrians crossing at mid-sections between stations where no official crossing exists represent another significant category. Railway settlements, where unauthorised housing clusters sit metres from active tracks, produce regular casualties as residents navigate between their homes and essential services. The geography of risk in Vidarbha extends along hundreds of kilometres of railway lines that divide communities and create barriers to daily movement.

Falling from trains constitutes the second major cause of death. Between 2020 and the first quarter of 2023, 129 people in Nagpur Division died after falling from moving trains. The annual figures show an increasing trend. In 2020, 26 people died this way. The number rose to 36 in 2021 and jumped to 52 in 2022. By the first quarter of 2023, another 15 had fallen to their deaths.

These falls happen under specific circumstances that recur with disturbing regularity. Passengers travel on footboards and between coaches when compartments become overcrowded beyond capacity. Others lose their grip while attempting to board or alight from trains that have not fully stopped at platforms.

Some fall into the gap between train and platform during boarding. The practice of travelling on footboards, while prohibited under Section 156 of the Indian Railways Act, continues in part because overcrowding on certain routes leaves passengers with limited options.

The category classified as trespassing encompasses deaths that occur when people are present on railway property without authorisation. These figures include people walking along tracks, sitting on rails, and crossing at unauthorised points. The consistent proportion of trespassing deaths across multiple years indicates that this remains a primary killer on Vidarbha's railway network.

Wardha district, another area within Vidarbha, recorded 47 deaths from track crossing between 2017 and 2019.

The data collection across different time frames by various authorities makes comprehensive aggregation difficult, but the available statistics consistently point to the same fundamental patterns affecting railway safety across the region.

The Profile of the Dead

The people dying on Vidarbha's railway tracks come from specific demographic and socioeconomic categories.

Workers employed in daily wage labour, construction, factories and small industries represent a significant portion of casualties.

These individuals often live in settlements near railway lines where housing costs remain minimal because the land is unauthorised railway property. Their daily commutes frequently involve crossing tracks to reach workplaces located on the opposite side of railway lines.

Women comprise a substantial number of victims, particularly in cases involving track crossing. Fetching water from communal taps requires repeated journeys across railway lines for families living in trackside settlements. In areas where foot overbridges are absent or inconveniently located, women carrying water containers on their heads must time their crossings to avoid approaching trains. The necessity of this task, combined with its frequency, creates repeated exposure to fatal risk.

Children constitute another vulnerable category. Students cross tracks to reach schools located on the opposite side of the railway lines. In some cases, children living in railway settlements incorporate track crossing into their daily routines from early ages, learning to assess train timing and speed through repeated exposure rather than avoiding tracks entirely. The normalisation of this behaviour within communities living near tracks perpetuates risk across generations.

The elderly and persons with limited mobility face particular hazards at locations where crossing tracks provides the only practical access between areas. The time required for an older person to cross multiple railway lines exceeds that needed by younger individuals, extending their window of vulnerability as trains approach. Cases of elderly people being struck while attempting to cross have been documented regularly.

Migrant workers appear prominently in certain categories of railway deaths. During the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, when regular passenger train services were suspended or restricted, thousands of migrant workers chose to walk home along railway tracks. On 8 May 2020, between Jalna and Aurangabad in the Nanded Division, 16 migrant workers were run over by a goods train while sleeping on the tracks.

These workers had been walking from Jalna toward their native states after losing employment during the lockdown.

They had walked approximately 36 kilometres and became exhausted. They rested on tracks between Karmad and Badnapur railway stations and fell into deep sleep. A goods train approached at 5.22 am and ran over them. The driver attempted to stop the train but could not do so in time. This single incident encapsulates the desperation and lethal circumstances that drive people onto railway tracks.

Railway workers and their families living in railway colonies near tracks also appear in casualty statistics.

People employed in railway maintenance, signalling and station operations often reside in housing provided near their work locations. Their proximity to tracks and frequent need to cross them as part of work duties creates ongoing exposure to risk.

Structural Conditions That Produce Deaths

The physical infrastructure surrounding railway lines in Vidarbha creates conditions that channel people toward risky behaviour. Absence of foot overbridges at many locations forces pedestrians to cross tracks at ground level.

Where foot overbridges do exist, their placement sometimes fails to match the natural flow of foot traffic, leading people to continue crossing tracks rather than walking an additional distance to reach the bridge.

Nagpur topped the list of locations in its region for deaths from track crossing between 2017 and 2019, with 59 fatalities recorded during that three-year period within its 126-kilometre jurisdiction. The concentration of deaths in areas with higher population density and more complex railway operations follows a predictable pattern. Wardha district followed with 47 deaths during the same period across a jurisdiction of 363 kilometres.

Railway settlements located on or immediately adjacent to railway land account for a significant portion of risk exposure. Nagpur houses approximately 858,000 people in slum areas distributed across 446 notified and non-notified settlements. Nearly 36 per cent of the city's population lives in these areas, many of which cluster along the Central Railway network. The proximity of these settlements to active tracks means residents must cross railway lines multiple times daily to access water, employment, schools and markets.

The makeshift structures in these settlements sit metres from tracks. Families cook, sleep and raise children in shelters constructed from bamboo, plastic sheeting, corrugated metal and salvaged wood. Water collection requires crossing tracks repeatedly. In some settlements, women wake at 4 am specifically to fetch water during periods of lower train frequency, though even this timing provides no guarantee of safety. The water sources available to these communities exist on the opposite side of the railway tracks, making multiple daily crossings an inescapable necessity rather than a choice.

Inadequate fencing and boundary walls allow easy access to railway property at many locations. Where walls have been constructed, residents frequently break through them to maintain shortcuts they have used for years. Railway Protection Force personnel regularly document cases of damaged fencing that residents have breached to continue crossing at familiar points. The cycle of wall construction, breach, repair and renewed breach repeats continuously in densely populated areas near tracks.

Level crossing infrastructure presents another structural risk factor. While Indian Railways eliminated all unmanned level crossings on broad gauge lines by January 2019, the period before their elimination saw numerous casualties. The transition from unmanned to manned crossings, or replacement with road overbridges, occurred gradually over the years during which accidents continued. Even at manned crossings, violations occur when vehicle drivers attempt to cross as gates close or trains approach.

The absence of adequate public transport options and road connectivity in some areas makes railway track crossings attractive despite their dangers. When the alternative to crossing tracks involves walking several kilometres around to reach a legal crossing point, and when that extra distance would consume time that daily wage workers cannot afford to lose, the incentive to take the shorter, illegal route across tracks remains strong.

Overcrowding on trains creates conditions that lead directly to deaths from falls. On certain routes, particularly those serving suburban areas around major cities, passenger loads regularly exceed design capacity.

The Vidarbha Express, running from Mumbai to Nagpur, experiences severe overcrowding between Mumbai and Kalyan, where local passengers board in large numbers despite the train being designated for long-distance travel. Passengers unable to find space inside travel on footboards, steps and between coaches, positions from which falls become more likely.

Platform infrastructure inadequacies contribute to deaths in multiple ways. Narrow platforms that become congested during peak hours push people closer to the track edges.

Gaps between platforms and trains, particularly on older platforms not designed for modern rolling stock, create spaces into which passengers can fall during boarding or alighting. The height differential between the platform and train floor causes stumbling and loss of balance, particularly for elderly passengers and those carrying luggage or children.

The Pattern of Incidents

Railway deaths in Vidarbha follow temporal and geographic patterns. The majority of deaths occur during specific time periods when train frequency is high and human activity near tracks peaks.

National data for 2023 showed that 15 per cent of railway accidents occurred between 9 am and noon, while another 15.3 per cent took place between 6 pm and 9 pm.

These time windows correspond to morning and evening commute periods when people are travelling to and from work.

Certain stretches of track accumulate deaths repeatedly. The Nagpur to Itwari section, the Nagpur to Khapri stretch, and areas near Wardha station appear regularly in incident reports. These locations share characteristics that include nearby residential settlements, industrial areas that draw workers, and either absent or inconveniently placed crossing infrastructure.

Stations with higher passenger throughput see more incidents involving falls during boarding and alighting.

Nagpur Junction, Itwari station, and other major stops in Vidarbha record regular cases of passengers losing their footing or being pushed by crowds as trains arrive or depart. The brief time trains remain at platforms during stops creates pressure on passengers to board or disembark quickly, leading to rushed movements that end in falls.

Weather conditions affect death rates, though not always in predictable ways. The monsoon season from June through September brings additional hazards. Waterlogged tracks reduce visibility of the ground surface. Slippery platforms increase the likelihood of falls. Flooding near tracks can obscure their exact location, leading people to step onto rails they cannot see clearly. Yet deaths continue at high rates throughout the year, indicating that weather is a contributing rather than determining factor.

Darkness increases risk substantially. Poor lighting along railway tracks in many areas means that people crossing at night or in early morning hours have a reduced ability to see approaching trains. Train headlights can create confusion about distance and speed. In settlements near tracks, lights from homes along the railway line can obscure the headlight of an approaching train, making it harder for someone crossing to accurately judge whether a train is coming.

Special circumstances produce clusters of deaths. During festival periods when trains are heavily overcrowded, the number of passengers travelling on footboards increases, leading to more falls. The weeks surrounding Diwali see particularly high passenger loads and correspondingly elevated casualty rates.

The COVID-19 lockdown period of 2020 created unusual conditions that nevertheless resulted in substantial deaths.

While passenger services were suspended or severely restricted, thousands of migrant workers chose to walk home along railway tracks.

In 2020 alone, over 8,700 people nationwide died on railway tracks despite reduced train services, indicating that the lockdown period concentrated vulnerable populations onto tracks. Many of these workers believed tracks would be safe due to suspended train services but were struck by freight trains that continued operating throughout the lockdown.

The Response Pattern

Railway authorities and police have implemented multiple measures intended to reduce deaths on tracks. These interventions have achieved limited success, as evidenced by the continued high death toll and increasing trend in annual fatalities in several categories.

The Railway Protection Force conducts regular awareness campaigns. Public announcement systems at stations broadcast warnings about the dangers of crossing tracks and travelling on footboards.

Posters and signs are displayed at stations and along track-adjacent areas. In some locations, informational videos play on screens visible to passengers.

Fines are imposed on people caught trespassing on railway property. Under Section 147 of the Railway Act, trespassing is punishable by imprisonment up to six months and fines up to Rs 1,000. Despite these enforcement actions, deaths from trespassing during multiple measured periods remained steady across years.

Physical infrastructure improvements have been implemented in some locations. Foot overbridges have been constructed at selected stations and mid-section locations where track crossing was common. A 58-metre-long and 8-metre-wide foot overbridge was constructed at the southern end of Dadar station on Western Railway, completed in September 2022 with a project cost of approximately Rs 8 crore. In October 2025, Central Railway completed a 56-metre-long and 3-metre-wide foot overbridge at Sion, establishing crucial pedestrian connectivity.

Boundary walls and fencing have been erected along certain stretches to prevent access to railway property. Level crossings have been closed and replaced with road overbridges or underbridges.

Under the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project, 34 locations on Western and Central Railway suburban networks were identified as places where people routinely cross tracks. Remedial measures, including foot overbridges, linkways and subways, were initiated at all 34 sites, with 30 structures completed. Additionally, boundary walls totalling approximately 46 kilometres were constructed to prevent track crossing. Despite these interventions, people continue finding ways to breach walls and cross tracks.

Railway police conduct drives to remove encroachments from railway land. Settlements located too close to tracks are targeted for demolition, though the legal and practical complexities of displacing large populations mean such removals happen slowly and often incompletely. The absence of alternative affordable housing for residents of these settlements means that even after removals, new encroachments tend to appear.

Technology-based solutions have been introduced in limited areas.

Closed-circuit television cameras at major stations allow monitoring of platforms and track areas. Some stations have received escalators and lifts to make foot overbridges more accessible, reducing the incentive to cross tracks at ground level.

The Railway Protection Force deploys personnel to patrol vulnerable locations and high-risk time periods. Patrolling teams are assigned to monitor stretches near slums and residential colonies where track crossing is common. However, the vast extent of railway lines in Vidarbha makes comprehensive coverage impossible with the available personnel.

The Persistence of Deaths

Despite the various interventions, deaths continue at rates that show limited sustained decline.

In 2024, as per parliamentary responses, 1,764 incidents of unnatural deaths in block sections and 662 incidents at stations were reported on Mumbai's suburban network alone, demonstrating that even major infrastructure projects have failed to reverse the fundamental problem.

Several dynamics explain why deaths persist despite interventions. The structural conditions that push people toward risky behaviour remain largely unchanged.

Railway settlements continue to exist in proximity to tracks because no large-scale rehousing programme has been implemented. The economic necessity that drives workers to take shortcuts persists because job locations, transport options and housing availability have not been restructured to eliminate the trade-off between time and safety.

The behavioural adaptations people make to living near tracks become deeply embedded. Adults who grew up crossing tracks daily as children continue the practice as adults and pass it on to their own children. The detailed knowledge residents develop about train schedules and the timing of safe crossing windows creates a sense of control that may not match actual safety. Experience crossing tracks thousands of times without incident can produce a false confidence that the next crossing will also be safe.

Enforcement of penalties has proven insufficient to change behaviour at scale. While fines are collected from hundreds of people each year across railway divisions, the total number of people crossing tracks illegally is certainly orders of magnitude higher. The relatively small fine amounts, when weighed against the time and inconvenience saved by crossing tracks, do not create a sufficient deterrent effect for many people.

Infrastructure improvements, while beneficial at specific locations, cannot be implemented everywhere simultaneously. The construction of a foot overbridge at one station does not address the kilometres of track between stations where people continue crossing. Budget constraints, land acquisition challenges and construction timelines mean that infrastructure development happens gradually over years, during which deaths continue.

The social acceptability of risky railway behaviour within affected communities perpetuates practices that external observers view as obviously dangerous. In settlements where everyone crosses tracks daily, where children play near rails, and where the sound of trains provides the constant background to daily life, the behaviour has been normalised to a degree that makes individual change difficult without broader community transformation.

Economic pressures override safety concerns for many people. A daily wage worker who would lose two hours of earning time by taking the legal route around railway tracks to reach a job site faces a direct economic cost to choosing safety. A woman who can fetch water in 15 minutes by crossing tracks versus 45 minutes by using the foot overbridge must make that choice multiple times per day. When the choice is repeated thousands of times with no negative outcome, the risk calculation shifts.

The specific design and placement of some safety infrastructure fail to match usage patterns. A foot overbridge that requires walking 500 metres from the natural crossing point will be underutilised if people can still access the tracks directly. Fencing that is breached and not immediately repaired loses its preventive function. The gap between infrastructure provision and effective risk reduction persists at many locations.

The statistics from Vidarbha must be understood within the broader pattern of railway deaths across Maharashtra and India. According to NCRB 2023 data, Maharashtra recorded 3,445 railway deaths, representing 15.8 per cent of India's total railway fatalities that year. The state also accounted for 5,507 cases of people falling from trains or being struck by trains at tracks, comprising 29.8 per cent of such incidents nationwide.

Maharashtra's rail network, railway-adjacent population density, and patterns of urban development combine to make it the state with the highest railway casualty burden in India.

Nationally, 21,803 deaths occurred in 24,678 railway accidents in 2023, representing a 6.7 per cent increase over 2022. Of these deaths, 15,878 resulted from falls from trains or collisions with people at tracks, accounting for 72.8 per cent of all railway fatalities. This proportion has remained relatively stable over time, indicating that the fundamental patterns producing deaths have not changed significantly despite various intervention efforts.

The Vidarbha data, when examined closely, reveals death occurring at a rate that averages between one and two people per day across the Nagpur Division jurisdiction. Some days see no deaths. Other days see multiple fatalities. The steady accumulation produces annual totals in the hundreds within a single administrative division of the railway system.

These numbers exist in official records maintained by the Government Railway Police based on information collected at incident sites. They represent cases where bodies were recovered, identities established where possible, and reports filed. The actual number of incidents may exceed documented cases, as some deaths on railway property may not be immediately discovered or reported.

The deaths span all age groups from children to the elderly. They include employed workers and unemployed residents, men and women, literates and illiterates, locals and migrants.

The distribution across these categories reflects the demographics of populations living near and travelling on railways in Vidarbha rather than any particular individual characteristic that creates unique vulnerability.

References

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