Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station.
Passenger group Friends on Rails has alleged that Wednesday’s escalator accident at Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station was due to negligence and the railways tried to downplay the incident.
Friends on Rails secretary J. Lyons said in a statement that it was not the first time the escalator had malfunctioned. A similar incident occurred on Tuesday. After that, passengers on the platform complained to the railway police that the escalator was running in reverse. The only response was that the relevant authorities would be informed, Mr Lyons said.
On Wednesday, the escalator broke down again and backed up at high speed, throwing many passengers off balance. Even after some passengers were thrown down from the top resulting in their injuries, the railways tried to play down the incident, he claimed.
If someone’s hair or clothes got caught in the escalator mechanism, the resulting scenario would be very tragic. It was not the first time that the railways washed their hands of all responsibility in the face of danger. The railways failed to take any action when vehicles parked at a paid parking lot at Thrissur railway station were gutted by fire, Friends on Rails alleged.
It said that the railways were carrying out repairs at several stations without adequate safety measures. He appeared to have no control over the contract workers and there was no effort to complete the excavation work on the platform or the construction of retaining walls within the time limit.
Passengers were left in a situation where their safety seemed to be their sole responsibility. Many minor accidents went unreported and the railways appeared to be waiting for some major disaster to take corrective action, Friends on Rails charged.
Railways should take better and proactive steps to ensure passenger safety, it said.
Published – 07 May 2026 21:38 IST
