Personnel to be posted at 14 unmanned level-crossings

The Chennai Division of Southern Railway will post personnel at 14 of 58 unmanned level-crossings by the end of the financial year, said S. Anantharaman, Divisional Railway Manager.“The objective is to man all level crossings in Chennai Division by 2015 and bring accident rates down to zero,” he said, adding that of the 30,000 level crossings in the country, 50 per cent are unguarded.Mr. Anantharaman was speaking at a walkathon organised here on Sunday to create awareness of the need to reduce the number of casualties at unmanned level crossings, prevent trespassing of railway tracks and footboard travel. Former cricketer T.A. Sekar and actors Jayam Ravi, Vijayakumar and Chinni Jayanth participated in the walkathon at the Marina Beach.“This rally is for rail-users since there isn't a single person, especially in this part of the country who does not use the train. On a daily basis, 1.1 million people use suburban trains and they must exercise extreme caution while crossing tracks,” the Divisional Railway Manager said. Highlighting the risks, he said there is little reaction time available as the train is moving at 100 km/hr.Deaths caused due to road-users speaking on cell phones while crossing tracks are avoidable, said Mr.Anantharaman. “Road-users are accountable under both the Motor Vehicles Act and the Railways Act,” he said, adding that even though the Railway Protection Force has caught many trespassers, there is a lack of awareness about penal provisions for such acts.To sensitise the public to safety measures, a month-long ‘Safety drive' was initiated by the Railway Board. An intensive public awareness campaign to educate vehicle-users has been carried out at level crossings, RTO offices and petrol bunks, said S.R. Gandhi, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner.