( CNN ) -- Trains are as intrinsic to life for India 's billion-plus people as cars for Americans . Think , then , what it means that the Railway Ministry has been accused of ignoring `` massacre '' on the tracks . About 15,000 people die each year simply trying to cross India 's mammoth network of railway lines , much of it left over from colonial days . That according to a scathing new safety report that blames the government for a lack of safety on a railway system used by 20 million Indians each day . Often , vast slums hug tracks and people live lives synchronized with the rhythms and noises of the trains roaring by . They walk the tracks every day as though it were their backyard . The report by the safety panel , set up in September after a series of rail accidents , said many of the deaths resulted from outdated technology and a lack of infrastructure . `` Reluctance of Indian Railways to own these casualties , which do not fall under the purview of train accidents but are nevertheless accidents on account of trains can by no means be ignored , '' said the report issued recently by the High Level Safety Review Committee . `` No civilized society can accept such massacre on their railway system , '' it said . The panel said 6,000 of the deaths occurred in Mumbai 's commuter system alone . `` We feel the grim situation on the Mumbai suburban system has to be tackled on a different war footing , '' it said . People are dying , it said , because of unmanned train crossings and a lack of barricades , fences and pedestrian bridges . Or the platforms are too narrow and stations lack facilities such as elevators for the disabled . Another 1,000 people die because they fall off crammed compartments or in train collisions , the report said . It said accidents of a minor nature and near misses were not included in the data . The report made a host of safety improvements and recommended a budget of about $ 20 billion over the next five years to implement changes . `` The demands on the system are rapidly growing without commensurate investments for upgradation of technology and modernization consistent with modern times , '' the report said .
15,000 people are killed trying to cross train tracks every year . A safety panel said almost half of the deaths were in Mumbai . It said 'no civilized society can accept such massacre ' It blamed outdated technology and lack of infrastructure .