Stretch of problems: Railway crossing near hospital troubles commuters, patients with traffic jams in Amritsar

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Amritsar, December 21

The railway crossing outside Jallianwala Bagh Martyr’s Memorial Civil Hospital here witnesses heavy traffic jam throughout the day as it is closed for over a hundred times each day to let the trains pass. Each time the crossing is closed, commuters have to wait. However, as the drivers are not in the habit of staying in their lanes, it causes a traffic jam when the railway crossing opens.

The shopkeepers near the place said that a number of trains cross the point daily. “Drivers on both sides of the crossing try to get ahead of each other and in the course they leave no space for vehicles coming from the opposite side to cross resulting in a traffic jam,” said a shopkeeper.

With no patience, two-wheeler riders and rickshaw pullers can be seen pushing their vehicles from under the iron bars of the railway crossing. The shopkeepers stated that sometimes the gate-man at the crossing closes the gate much before the arrival of the train which causes more problem with traffic getting stuck.

The poor condition of the road also causes trouble to the commuters as it is filled with potholes. The stretch from Ram Bagh Chowk to railway crossing near the Civil Hospital is merely 200 metres in length but it takes almost 10 minutes for a four-wheeler to cover the stretch. And this is when the railway crossing is open. In case of closed crossing, everything depends on the time it takes for the train to cross and the traffic jam to clear.

Commuters say there is a need for installation of traffic signals at the intersection of Rambagh road and the bus stand road. With people coming from all sides and nobody having the patience to let vehicles from the other side cross, traffic jam is only thing that can happen. If reduced, it may also be useful to those visiting the hospital for treatment and their attendants.