India’s Railways Ministry bans roof travel

The sight of intrepid travellers perched on top of trains has become one of the enduring images of India. Now the health and safety lobby is to end such death-defying commutes.

Before the end of the month Western Railway, one of the government-owned groups that runs Mumbai’s local railway network, has pledged that its trains will stop running if “even a single person” is seen travelling on the roof.



The crackdown, which will coincide with the introduction of more powerful overhead cables, will be implemented on February 28 and the authorities are bracing themselves for disruption.

“We know that halting a train during peak hours will result in a lot of chaos. However, we cannot let people travel this way as they will surely lose their lives,” a railway spokesman said.