Can Mumbai local trains go double-decker? Bombay HC wants to know

Are double-decker local trains the answer to the problem of the overcrowded public transport in Mumbai? A bench of the Bombay High Court seems to think so, as it recently asked the railways to consider the suggestion, according to a report in The Times of India.[caption id="attachment_2419732" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representational image. Image courtesy: AP[/caption]The court’s observations came in the context of a bunch of public interest litigations on the safety of women in Mumbai. During the hearing of the case, the judges referred to overcrowding of trains and buses because of the strike by taxi drivers, according to the TOI report.In September 2012, the railways had started an air-conditioned double-decker train from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. The Times of India had then quoted a railway official as saying that the double-decker train can take 70% more passengers than regular trains.As reported in TOI on Thursday, a bench of the Bombay High Court has asked the railways if similar services can be started for Mumbais’ local trains.Overcrowding is a major problem in Mumbai’s local trains. Earlier, the High Court was informed that in peak hours, up to 500 people travel in a compartment which has a capacity for 86 persons, as reported by Asian Age. According to a report by Mid Day, nine people die every day in accidents related to local trains. Several of the deaths are said to take place because of people falling off the footboards of the trains when compartments are crowded.