Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai   

Treading dangerously on the track

By K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI Feb. 25. The railway track between Vyasarpadi and Villivakkam has been witnessing one fatal accident every four days owing to trespass.

The death of a 42-year-old woman while crossing the track near the Perambur railway station recently has turned the spotlight on the need to create awareness of the benefits of using foot overbridges. The victim, Meenal, wife of an ICF employee, died on the spot after she was hit by a passenger train on Thursday, sources in the railway police said, even while expressing concern at the lack of patronage for the foot overbridge and the pedestrian ramp in the area.

According to RPF statistics, about 99 fatal accidents were registered in the Perambur station in 2002 and in the past one month, 9 cases were registered. The Station Manager, S. Murugadoss, recalled a similar accident in which the daughter of a railway employee was killed while crossing the track. Ironically, even the family members of railway employees, who were supposed to be more aware, themselves became victims. Thousands of commuters are using the Perambur track every day as a short-cut to reach the North and South Perambur High Road, unmindful of the risks involved. "Many commuters, especially youth, seem to regard crossing the track as a thrilling experience, with trains approaching closer to them", said Saradha, a commuter.

The agonising delay in constructing a flyover in Perambur has increased the pressure on residents to take risks while crossing from one side of the track to the other. The reopening of the pedestrian ramp, which was closed for over eight years at the station connecting the North and South Perambur High Road, has not helped to reduce the casualty rate, owing to poor compliance by the commuters. Mr. Murugadoss said earlier trespassing was more as the Perambur bus stand was shifted to Jamalia owing to flyover construction, which led to inconvenience to the passengers, who used tracks to reach the other end.

But, even after the shifting of the bus stand to its original site, the trespass continued, he said. Regarding the measures taken to curb trespass, Mr. Murugadoss said a permanent RPF station had been established. Checks were held once in a week and tresspassers fined up to Rs.150. The proposal to extend the foot overbridge to one more span covering the cycle parking point had been sanctioned and works would be completed in six months. The cycle parking near the pedestrian ramp would be shifted to the one end of the station and the parking space would be expanded.

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