Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday slammed criticised the state of Mumbai’s urban infrastructure and local train system after Mumbai local train tragedy.
Raj Thackeray`s statement came hours after four commuters died and nine were injured after falling off two overcrowded local trains in Maharashtra`s Thane district during the morning rush hour on Monday.
Raj Thackeray, in his statement, posted on X, expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and said such incidents are happening far too often in Mumbai.
“Every day, people are injured in Mumbai’s local trains, and yet no one seems to care,” said Raj Thackeray.
He pointed out that despite repeated appeals, no government has addressed the long-standing demand for a separate Mumbai Railway Corporation to manage the city’s railway challenges.
The MNS chief said, “We too had made this demand, but till today, no government has taken it seriously.”
He criticised the unplanned urban growth in the city, saying, “Large numbers of people are moving to Mumbai. Roads, bridges, and metro lines are being built, and tall buildings are being approved — but there’s no proper plan for parking or traffic.”
आज मुंबईत जो रेल्वे अपघात झाला तो दुर्दैवी आहे. या अपघातात अनेक प्रवाशांचा मृत्यू झाला, पण अशाच घटना रोज मुंबईत घडत आहेत. मुंबईत रोज प्रवासी जखमी होत आहेत आणि तरीही कोणाला काहीही देणं-घेणं नाहीये.
मुंबई रेल्वेसाठी एक वेगळं महामंडळ हवं, ही मागणी गेले कित्येक वर्षांपासून केली जात… pic.twitter.com/vJvUgcQKKr
— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) June 9, 2025
He stressed that every major city in Maharashtra is suffering from traffic issues, and new infrastructure is not solving the problem because governments are not considering the pressure from rising populations.
Speaking on current political discourse, Raj Thackeray remarked, “Everyone’s attention is only on elections and campaigning. Instead of asking whether Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray will form an alliance, people should be asking how Mumbai’s commuters are surviving. That’s the real issue.”
He also questioned, “Will these questions be raised? Will there be a demand answers from the government? Political gossip about who said what is meaningless when compared to these serious problems.”
Raj Thackeray further said, “I used to travel by train myself. Things were better back then. Today, just looking at the station crowds is frightening. Our MPs and ministers travel abroad — do they learn anything from those countries?”
“If such a train accident had happened abroad, it would have been handled very differently. Here, there’s no action, no accountability. It’s as if human life has no value in our country.”
According to officials from the Thane Municipal Corporation, the passengers were travelling on the Kasara-CSMT (08:19) fast local train when the mishap occurred. Preliminary reports suggest that passengers hanging on the footboards of two fast-moving trains — one heading towards Kasara and the other towards CSMT — collided, causing several individuals to fall onto the tracks.
