The first thing that crosses your mind when you hear about fatalities at an unmanned railway crossing is that a small gate was all that was needed to avoid the  collision. Definitely sounds simple but this is indeed a complicated and costly exercise for the Railways.  

In an interview with Metrolife, Senior Divisional Operating Manager, South Western Railway, N Ramesh said that the provision of interlocking facility at an unmanned level crossing costs Rs 15 lakhs. It also requires  four men to handle it.

“There are 178 unmanned gates in the Bangalore division out of a national unmanned count of 5,000. With limited funds at the disposal of the Railways, converting all of them to manned gates is unimaginable,” he said. 

Again, the time period taken to instal an operational gate at an unmanned crossing takes a minimum of two years due to the procedure involved.

It is not possible to wait that long as the Bangalore division has added 40 trains in the last seven years.

So, the South Western Railway has settled on the second best option—a full-scale awareness campaign on safety targeting villages and colleges coupled with men stationed at gates and physically warning people about approaching trains.

The steps have been extensively undertaken all over the Bangalore division the last 15 months. The division encompasses these stretches — Bangalore to Salem, Bangalore to Mysore, Bangalore to Dharmavaram in Andhra Pradesh, Bangalore to Chennai (155 kms) and City to Tumkur.

This followed a study by the Safety division of Railways on  deaths at unmanned level crossings for  23 years. “A shocking reality is that deaths take place during peak morning and evening hours and not during nights as is commonly assumed,” Ramesh said. 

Elaborate procedure

This is the time-consuming procedure to get a gate installed at a particular spot — The Railway Board has to first approve it, then it has to be spelt out in the February budget speech by the Railway minister and then sanctioned in the Pink Book.

Then tenders will be called for and the gate readied. The procedure takes even more than two years.During the last financial year, ten unmanned gates in the division have been made as manned ones. 

Commendable safety steps

The appointment of 42 ‘Look-Out men’ to guard 41 gates within the division has played a crucial role in public safety. They are whistleblowers in a literal sense and are armed with a red flag, a green flag, a whistle and a walkie talkie.

The Look-Out men are elderly men selected from the railway’s gang men and stand guard at the tracks from 7 am to 7 pm. The Gowri Bidanur level crossing witnessed an accident recently involving the Kurla-Bangalore Express. Hence, this place is now provided round-the-clock monitoring.

Altogether 300 CDs have been distributed by the Railways to colleges in and around the City with the support of an NGO, Tejus Crisis and Trauma Foundation to spread the message of safety.

The CD conveys the intended message through an amusing anecdote. Lord Yama descends to Earth and positions himself near a railway track. He talks aloud: ‘I am going to carry away many with me today.”

Trains come and he waits patiently for people to ram into the train. That never happens as the public abide by the safety steps spelt out by the Railways. Yama leaves totally disappointed!’

Banners propagating safety, numbering 300, have been displayed in 200 petrol bunks. One lakh pamphlets in various languages have been distributed in busy public places.

Altogether 30,000 safety stickers have been distributed. They have also been displayed in buses.

“We met officers of BMTC and changed routes of a few buses so that they do not clash with train crossing timings,” Ramesh said.

So, can mishaps at unmanned crossings within the Bangalore division be avoided in future? “I am worried about elite youngsters in posh cars and their irresponsible behaviour on the road.’’

Underestimating the speed and length of an approaching train is the major cause for accidents, says the senior operational manager.

One must bear in mind that a goods train’s length is 600 metres, comprises 40 wagons and travels at 25 kms/hour. On the other hand, passenger trains measure between 300 and 400 metres and travel at a speed of 100 kms/ hour.

So better bear this in mind the next time you think of racing across an unmanned railway crossing.

FATALITY STATISTICS

*The following are the statistics on deaths at unmanned level crossing within the Bangalore division. The total number of manned gates in the division: 269, unmanned gates: 178.

*The year taken into account is the financial year. During the year 2004-05 two were killed, 2005-2006 ten were killed, 2006-2007 Nil and 2007 to 2008 (still running) one death.  Statistics on injuries: not available.