From today, 7-day campaign to increase safety at unmanned crossings….Kalpana Verma
safety First – Railways will use pamphlets, posters and calendars to educate motorists on how to navigate an unmanned level crossing
safety First – Railways will use pamphlets, posters and calendars to educate motorists on how to navigate an unmanned level crossing
The International Union of Railways (UIC) will observe the International Level Crossing Awareness Day on June 9 to sensitise road users to increase safety at unmanned level crossings. A week-long campaign by the Railways, which begins on Thursday, will aim at reducing the number of accidents at unmanned crossings.
Kul Bhushan, General Manager of Central Railway and acting General Manager of WR, said, During the week-long campaign, the railways will focus on creating public awareness and also educate drivers on safety measures at unmanned gates. This year, Central Railway has witnessed tremendous success in reducing the number of accidents at unmanned level crossings in comparison to last year.
The number of accidents at unmanned crossings has been a cause of concern for the Indian Railways. At present, there are 32,694 level crossings of which 14,853 are unmanned. The accidents occur at these crossings primarily due to inadequate precautions by the road users who do not observe mandatory sign boards, signals and basic traffic safety rules. However, over the last five years, the train accidents at unmanned level crossings have come down.
On the Central Railway, there are 325 unmanned level crossing gates, most of which are in Solapur and Pune.
Between April 2010 and February 2011, three train accidents were recorded on Central Railway, while last year there were 12. Of the three accidents, one occurred at an unmanned level crossing.
On Indian Railways, from April 2010 to February 2011, 125 train accidents were recorded of which 39 occurred at unmanned crossings. Last year, the number of accidents recorded was 139.
This February alone, nine train accidents were recorded on Indian Railways, of which five cases were at unmanned level crossing gates, said a senior Central Railway official.
The Railways will use pamphlets, posters and calendars to educate the motorists on how to navigate an unmanned level crossing gate.