The detailed statistics are available till November end which said that 358 people have lost their lives on the tracks from Loni to Lonavla. The figure also includes the deaths that occurred on the tracks between Pune to Nira which also falls in the jurisdiction of the Government Railway Police (GRP). The maximum deaths occurred in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Dehu Road and Talegaon.

The distance from Pune to Loni is 20 km, Pune to Lonavala 60 km and Pune to Nira (80 km)). In all, 156 bodies were left unclaimed and were cremated by the Pune Municipal Corporation. The number of dead greatly surpasses the other stations in the Pune division with Daund station registering 54 deaths with Ahmednagar coming third at 31.

‘Accidental deaths’ or AD in railway parlance are divided into various categories. Out of the 358 (327 men and 31 female) who died on the tracks from Loni to Lonavala, 215 lost lives due to trespassing or line crossing while 54 fell from running trains to their death. The rest passed away on railway premises due to other medical reasons like heart attacks as per cited by the doctor in the post-mortem report. In comparison to previous years, 344 died in 2006 due to ADs while 389 lost lives in 2005.

“Each year, an average of around 300 die on this track,” said the police. Compensation is claimed with the Railway Police Force (RPF) only if people fall off the train, he said.

“As Pune is a junction, with around 120 long distance trains, the numbers here are bound to be greater than other stations. Many of these trains do not even stop at Daund and Ahmednagar, which explains the low mortality,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police, GRP, Subash Kamble.