Four days ago, 17 children were killed when their school bus rammed into a train near Hyderabad. In Bangalore on Sunday, a 28-year-old man was killed and a driver was injured when the JCB vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a train at an unmanned level crossing between Oddarahalli and Doddaballapur.
At a time when speed, security and safety are the buzzwords for the railways, the accidents highlight yet again the problem of unmanned level crossings (ULCs), where the paths of trains and road vehicles intersect. Both officials and locopilots quote the Motor Vehicle Act and say the onus is on road users to look out for themselves.
A 2012 report titled ‘Level crossing scenario of Indian Railways’ by Sandeep Jain, Director (Safety), and Alok Kumar, Joint Director (Safety), Ministry of Railways, Government of India, said: “Accidents at level crossings happen primarily because road users do not respect the right of way of the railways.”
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While holding level crossings responsible for 41 per cent of accidents, 63 per cent of deaths and 33 per cent of injuries of all accidents in Indian Railways, it said road users cross tracks when the train is approaching and called for a joint effort by the Union and State governments, municipalities, NGOs, educational institutions and private operators to tackle the problem.
The All India Loco Running Staff Association wants all ULCs eliminated by constructing railway under bridge, railway over bridge or staff to regulate traffic at level crossings as it is impossible to stop a train running at 100 kmph. C. Suneesh, general secretary, Loco Running Staff Association, South Western Railway Zone, said, “The solution is there should be no ULCs.”