Railways uses blue-light indicators to warn passengers in Mumbai

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) To warn passengers that a train is ready to move and that they should not board it, the Indian Railways has installed a blue-light indicator at the entrance gate on an EMU train in Mumbai for trial purpose, an official said.

A senior railway ministry official said the railways is experimenting with the blue-light indicator, which has been fixed at the top of the entrance of the train on a pilot basis.

He said the blue light, after the train is signalled to move, emits a beam on the platform warning the passengers not to board or alight when it starts moving.

The official said the beam of the blue-light falls at least three feet away on the platform ramp to warn the passengers to maintain safe distance to avoid accidents from an incoming or outgoing train.

The official pointed out that the decision was taken after Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who is from Mumbai and has travelled a lot in the suburban railway network, expressed concern over fatalities involving passengers falling off running trains.

The official said the blue-light beam is being tested on one of the non-air conditioned Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) train, which does not have the automatic doors like the air conditioned EMU and Metro trains.

The official further said the project has been started on a pilot basis, and in the coming days the visual indicator will be installed on more coaches and rakes of Mumbai suburban locals.

According to railway ministry, local trains in Mumbai cover over 427.5 km network spread in two railway zones -- Central and Western Railways.