Kolkata, July 22 (IANS) The recent train accident at a Level Crossing (LC) gate in Berhampore, West Bengal, that resulted in the death of five persons, including three schoolchildren, has worked as an eye-opener for Eastern Railway (ER) officials. The railway zone has now undertaken to convert most of the remaining 99 non-interlocked LC gates under its jurisdiction to interlocked ones.
The remaining non-interlocked LC Gates will be replaced by subways. “ER general manager Milind Deouskar has given this project top priority. He is spearheading a massive infrastructure modernisation drive across all four divisions — Sealdah, Howrah, Asansol, and Malda. Through meticulous planning and relentless execution, all LC gates will be transformed to ensure smooth, secure, and accident-free movement for all,” a senior official said.
At a traditional non-interlocked LC Gate, safety relies manually on telephonic communication between station staff and gatekeepers to lower the barrier. While gatekeepers perform their duties with dedication, relying purely on manual communication leaves room for human error or delay.
“To eliminate this risk, ER is aggressively replacing them with high-tech Interlocked LC gates. In an interlocked gate, the physical gate barrier is electronically synchronised with the signalling system. The signal cannot turn green unless the LC gate is completely closed, locked, and secured tightly. If a gate remains open even by an inch, the signal stays red, stopping the train safely and removing all chances of human error,” the official said.
“To make journeys even smoother and safer, ER is constructing Road Under Bridges (RUBs) and Limited Height Subways (LHS) at some locations. These subways allow road vehicles, ambulances, and pedestrians to cross safely beneath train tracks without ever having to wait at a closed gate or cross a live railway line,” he added.
Of the 379 manned LC gates in the Sealdah Division, 368 are already interlocked, leaving only 11 non-interlocked. In the Howrah Division, out of 301 LC gates, 267 gates are interlocked, and 34 are non-interlocked. In the Asansol Division, out of 127 gates, 93 gates are interlocked, and 34 are non-interlocked. In the Malda Division, out of 99 gates, 79 are interlocked while 20 remain non-interlocked.
Across all four divisions, ER Eastern has 906 manned LC gates, of which 807 are fully interlocked, leaving only 99 non-interlocked. ER also has 579 subways or underpasses that allow the seamless movement of vehicles and pedestrians. More of these will be constructed in the days to come to eliminate the use of LCs completely. Work has started on a war footing, the official said.
Eastern Railway CPRO Shibram Majhi said that there will be a constant endeavour to save lives in the railway network.
–IANS
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