JOIN USThe Bengaluru Division of the railways has eliminated all the 71 unmanned level crossings under its jurisdiction in the past four years, to enhance the safety of road as well as rail commuters.
A press release from South Western Railways said out of the 71 unmanned level crossings, 48 crossings were closed and 23 were turned into manned crossings.
The Ministry of Railways had set a target to all Railway Zones to eliminate the unmanned level crossing gates by 2018. The Bengaluru Division said it was the first division in SWR (Southwestern Railways) to achieve this task.
On April 1, 2017, Bengaluru Division had nine unmanned level crossing gates under its jurisdiction. The railways said these have been eliminated.
Removing level crossings will also lead to smooth road traffic movement besides ensuring the safety of commuters. In this regard, the railways built the road under bridges (RUB) or limited height subways at 42 locations and road over bridges (ROB) at two locations.
Officials diverted roads to such facilities to eliminate some of the unmanned crossings.
From 2015 onwards the division has deployed gate mitras at vulnerable and sensitive level crossings to alert commuters about the approaching trains.
From October 2017, round-the-clock gate mitras were posted to avoid untoward incidents.