Railway Fatalities in South West Mumbai

The study was carried out on 542 cases of railway fatalities received from South-west Mumbai, during the 3 years period from 1st August 2005 to 31st July 2008. Railway fatalities represent 19% of all autopsies conducted at Topiwala National Medical College, and B. Y. L. Nair charitable hospital, Mumbai. The age span of 11–40 years comprised 80% of all railway fatalities. There was male predominance with ratio of 9:1. Maximum number of deaths occurred during evening and morning hours. The single most important cause leading to railway fatalities observed in this study was unauthorised crossing of railway lines to catch the train on another platform, followed by overcrowding. The most common cause of death was head injury (44.09%). Most of the deaths (90.04%) were accidental in nature. Our results indicate that, it is quite possible to make rail-travel safer by adhering to the set norms of railway safety, high quality of maintenance and vigilant supervision by the railway authorities, observance of rules and regulations by all without exception and by avoiding risky behavior/practices while travelling.