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Local activists staged a seven-day protest outside the Diva station, demanding the commencement of local trains originating from Diva to ease rush-hour congestion following the Mumbra accident. “If trains can start from other stations, why not from Diva?” they questioned.

“Even though innocent lives have been lost, why is the administration still silent about increasing local train services and starting a Diva to CSMT local? How many more lives is the administration waiting to lose? Despite Diva being a junction, why don’t all fast local trains halt there? Hundreds of innocent citizens have died in train accidents since 2014,” said activist Ashwini Amol Kendre.

“Our fight to get a halt for fast locals and to start the Diva to CSMT local has been going on for years. We’ve held signature campaigns, taken out marches, gone on hunger strikes, and even organised a band to draw the attention of the sleeping railway administration. To prevent tragic accidents like the one on June 9, increasing the frequency of local trains is essential,” she added. 

“If local trains can originate from Vidyavihar, Ghatkopar, and Dombivli, then why not from Diva, which is a junction? Why doesn’t a local train start from here? If we truly want to pay tribute to those who died in the accident, we must increase the frequency of local trains and start the Diva to CSMT local without delay,” said another activist. “Why is the Diva to CSMT local train service still pending after decades? This is not a new demand, it’s a long-ignored necessity,” said commuter Madhuri Gupta.

“Adding one more terminal would be disastrous for the overall operations of the railway and would lead to further delays. A single fast train terminating at Diva would have to cross six tracks, causing a delay of 12 minutes and disrupting the entire timetable,” said a Central Railway spokesperson.