Death lurks on railroads

It was a morning a few years ago.

Like every day, Sabbir Hossain was going to his coaching classes at a nearby place.

With headphones plugged into both the ears, he was casually walking on the railway tracks, being completely unaware of the danger ahead.

Probably, he was listening to one of his favourite songs. 

And suddenly, there was a train at speed right behind him.

People there started to shout to draw his attention in vain.

The train ran him over in the blink of an eye.

Such accidental deaths are quite common in Bangladesh. The Daily Star, gathering its reports on train accidents from 2008-2015, has found that 50 percent of the dead were jaywalkers.

Many of the victims were either crossing the railway line or walking on the tracks like Sabbir. A number of the victims were talking over their mobile phones.

According to the road accident stories between 2010 and present, The Daily Star found jaywalkers accounted for 40 percent of all reported deaths due to road accidents in Dhaka city.

On average, 100 railway accidental deaths were reported in a year between 2008 and 2015.

Collision between trains and other vehicles is also a common incident that claimed lives.

The Daily Star reported 122 such incidents since 2008. Of the cases, 23 percents involved trains and buses.

Reckless driving as well as the absence of gatemen at the level crossings are the contributing factors.

According to Bangladesh Railway data, only 13 percent of 1,550 level crossings are manned round the clock.

Many people risk their lives riding on the roof of trains.

In many cases, victims fell from trains while climbing up to the roof while many were hit by bridge girders. 

LIMITATIONS

This trend was seen exclusively in The Daily Star reports. At least 586 accidents were reported between 2008 and 2015. This study and info graphics were based upon that information only.