Railways, Kerala govt need to take steps to ensure passenger safety in trains: Satheesan

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 4 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Tuesday said that the Railways and the state government need to seriously consider the issue of safety of passengers travelling in trains and take steps in this regard.

Satheesan said that the government and the Railways need to put in place measures that can effectively prevent incidents like the one where a woman was critically injured after a drunk passenger pushed her out of a moving train near Varkala here on Sunday.

The opposition leader contended that such incidents show there is a lack of safety and security for the railway passengers.

He said that students of varying ages and even elderly people use trains daily, and therefore, measures need to be put in place to prevent such incidents.

According to railway police, the incident occurred shortly after the Kerala Express departed from Varkala railway station around 8.30 pm.

The woman and her friend boarded the unreserved compartment at Aluva and were en route to Thiruvananthapuram, a police official said.

They reportedly got into an argument with the accused, who was heavily intoxicated according to the police, and he kicked the victim out of the train.

The woman continues to be in critical condition. PTI HMP ADB