Deaths at level crossings

The unfortunate death of a loco engine driver in a collision with a mixer truck has led to a war of words between the Centre and the Punjab Government. The Punjab and Haryana High Court is also seized of the matter. For the public at large, the railways is at fault for accidents at level crossings. The media subscribes to the same bias: suggesting after each accident that a “train dashed into a bus\train\car”. Trains do not jump track to go hunting for unsuspecting vehicles. Rather it is the automobile drivers who wilfully disregard all Supreme Court mandated warning boards and heavy-duty rumble strips to risk a dash across the track despite a train with horn blaring (again court mandated) hurtling down the track. 

Politicians are prone to announcing plans to man all level crossings. But once they are in the Railway Minister’s chair, they realise a single conversion costs Rs 1.75 crore, with Rs 1.25 crore annually as running expenses. Crossings should be converted on the basis of regular audits of traffic volume — not on ministerial whim or court intervention. Ferozepur division, where the accident occurred, has the most unmanned level crossings in the country. Not because it is underdeveloped or no Railway Minister came from there, but because its jurisdiction extends to Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir where traffic volume is low.

The Modi government has drawn a blueprint that is being force-fed to the railways. Suresh Prabhu had announced the elimination of all level crossings in three years while his successor wants to accomplish this in one year. Either way, it will be ruinously expensive for the railways. There may well have been miscommunication between the Central and state governments leading to the accident in question. But it will be shortsighted to leverage this mishap as an excuse for a construction spree. Each region’s requirement is different. The busy West-Central Railway Zone has already eliminated all unmanned level crossings from its area. It is best to let states and railways work out solutions that meet local needs.