More unmanned level crossings falling within the limits of Tiruchi Railway Division are proposed to be eliminated in the current fiscal year.
The Southern Railway authorities have planned to convert a little over 100 unmanned level crossings situated along various sections falling within the Tiruchi division either into manned gates or constructing a limited subway.
Maximum number of unmanned level crossings is proposed to be converted into manned gates, railway sources said. Among the 104 unmanned crossings targeted for elimination in the current fiscal, 70 were proposed to be manned. Limited Use Subways would be constructed in 30 others and four were proposed for diversion.
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Railway officials said unmanned level crossings with 3,000 TVUs (Train Vehicle Units) and above on an average a day would usually be chosen for manning. The TVU is calculated taking into account the average number of trains passing through the unmanned crossing multiplied with the number of road vehicles especially four-wheelers, three-wheelers and bullock carts.
The Tiruchi Railway Division has a vast jurisdiction encompassing over 10 revenue districts situated in the central and northern regions in the State.
Several unmanned level crossings falling in the Villupuram – Tiruchi chord line section (via Vriddhachalam, Ariyalur); Villupuram – Tiruchi main line (via Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Kumbakonam and Thanjavur) have been converted into manned or provided with limited use subways in an effort to check accidents over the years.
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As part of this continuing safety measure, the Southern Railway authorities eliminated 69 unmanned level crossings falling in the open line section in Tiruchi Division in the 2016-17 financial year. Open line sections are those where trains are operated.
The sources said 39 of them were converted into manned gates while in five others limited use subways were constructed to enable movement of smaller vehicles.
Outright closure was done in 22 unmanned crossings, while three others were brought under diversion with vehicles sent through the adjacent crossing.
The sources said 12 unmanned level crossings were converted into manned gates in the Villupuram – Tiruchi main line section; 10 in Villupuram – Tiruchi chord line section; eight in Villupuram – Katpadi section and four in Thanjavur – Nagore – Karaikal section in 2016-17.
In addition to this, unmanned crossings were also eliminated in those sections where broad gauge conversions were currently under way.
Limited use subways were provided in 18 such unmanned crossings in the Tiruvarur – Karaikudi and Tiruthuraipoondi – Agasthiampalli sections where gauge conversion works were on.