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Show concern for fellow passengers, says father of Fort station accident victim
A father who lost his 25-year-old daughter in a tragic rail accident at the Fort Railway station has called on commuters to be mindful of fellow passengers.
James Joseph, an executive officer in a private company in Colombo, on Monday headed to the station, as he did daily, to board the Chilaw-bound train scheduled to leave at 6.10 p.m. He had checked with his daughter, Sharein Lorenta of her whereabouts as she too boarded the same train.
This was their routine for the past several months. Lorenta employed at a private firm in Mattakkuliya would arrive at the Fort station by office transport and they would both board the train to get home in Peralanda, Ragama.
Mr Joseph boarded the train as it arrived from Moratuwa. No sooner had he done so there was an announcement over the public address system that the train bound for Ambepussa would be delayed.
Many commuters who were travelling up to Ragama on that train alighted and were seen rushing to board the Chillaw-bound train.
Mr. Joseph soon heard the news that one passenger boarding the train had fallen between the platform and the carriages.
He got off immediately to make inquiries as he knew many of the commuters who travelled on the train “I went to the spot and I was told that the injured person had been taken to hospital.
I wanted to find out who it was and decided to go to the national hospital,” he said.It was at the hospital that Mr. Joseph found out to his horror that the victim was his own daughter who had died on admission.
An eyewitness to the incident, Mariya Jaycintha told a coroner’s court that she and the victim were employed in the same company.
She said the train was moving slowly when they tried to board the train when the bag of a footboard passenger hit her and it may have struck Lorenta too.
She said Lorenta fell between the platform and train and she was rushed to hospital. “There should be some awareness programmes for passengers. I believe my daughter fell victim when trying to board the train amidst the crowd,” Mr. Joseph said.
He said even if there were enough seats in the trains some youth opted to travel on the footboard which could lead to accidents.
Some commuters said many passengers had no option but to hurriedly board the train. “Sometimes it is a case of passengers trying to get better seats.
But there are others who fear that if they miss the train they would have to wait a long time to board the next one,” Ananda Piyarathan from Ragama said, underlying the urgency to improve our public transport system.
He also said railway employees should help control crowds when boarding trains. He said commuters should show more concern, instead of pushing even elderly people, women and children.
Anil Shriyantha, a regular traveller from Ambepussa said commuters too should be more mindful when boarding or alighting trains as one wrong move could prove fatal.
He said if there were sufficient trains running at regular intervals people wouldn’t be rushing to board the trains risking life and limb, he said.
However, a railway worker at the station said even if there were sufficient seats, people unnecessarily rushed to board trains. “Some of them get into moving trains, little realizing that one small slip could result in a tragedy,” he said.