VINOD BHAT
NEW DELHI, July 9: In an extraordinary gesture of commitment to public service, the Hon’ble Minister of Railways, despite having lost his father just a day earlier and being deeply engaged in personal rituals and grief, chaired a critical safety review over phone on Tuesday. The review focused on enhancing safety measures at railway Level Crossing (LC) gates across the country, and led to the formulation of a robust action plan aimed at preventing mishaps and strengthening infrastructure.
A key outcome of this emergency review was the announcement of a 15-day intensive safety inspection drive focused on LC gates located in block sections. The initiative, which begins immediately, will involve thorough field inspections, safety audits, and compliance checks, to ensure existing safety mechanisms are both functional and effective.
During the review, the Railway Minister laid out a comprehensive safety framework that covers surveillance, infrastructure modernization, policy revamp, and field-level monitoring. A major decision included the provision of CCTV systems at all LC gates, along with reliable power supply systems that may include solar panels, battery backups, or UPS, in addition to commercial connections. The CCTV systems are to be installed in mission mode to ensure round-the-clock monitoring and deterrence of violations.
The Minister also called for a review of policies governing the classification of gates, particularly suggesting a shift from ‘Close to Road Traffic’ to ‘Open to Road Traffic’ wherever feasible, in order to facilitate smoother and safer crossings. Further, he ordered the fast-tracking of interlocking systems at LC gates, directing that even gates with a Traffic Vehicle Unit (TVU) count as low as 10,000 be brought under interlocking mechanisms—significantly lowering the earlier threshold of 20,000. All such gates are to be interlocked irrespective of plans for Road Over Bridges (ROBs), Road Under Bridges (RUBs), or Limited Height Subways (LHS).
In a bid to expedite this ambitious safety overhaul, the involvement of Railway Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) has also been encouraged, particularly for interlocking works and gate construction. To ensure procedural discipline, daily random checks of voice recordings from non-interlocked LC gates will now be mandatory—at least two per day per division. Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) have been asked to verify that all voice logger systems are functional and up to date.
Standardization of physical safety features like speed breakers and warning signage at LC gates will also be undertaken immediately to reduce confusion and improve road user awareness. Additionally, the construction of ROBs, RUBs, and LHS structures will be accelerated with the goal of completely eliminating LC gates over the long term.
In light of increasing instances of public interference and staff manhandling at certain vulnerable LC gates, a list of such conflict-prone locations will be prepared. Deployment of Railway Protection Force (RPF) or Home Guard personnel will be ensured at these sites to maintain order and prevent untoward incidents.
This swift and focused intervention by the Railway Ministry, undertaken amid personal loss, demonstrates the high priority accorded to passenger and public safety. The Ministry’s efforts mark a significant push toward modernizing railway operations and safeguarding lives at the grassroots operational level.
