Indian Railways Thread

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 05 Jun 2009 19:00

As long as 6.5 million commuters from that great city of Bombay behave like ideal citizens they will have to put up with this daily abuse.
Indian Railway's has minimum space standards for cattle and animals transported in trains, while the hard working citizens in Mumbai are made to travel in "Super Dense Crush Loads" of 10-12 passengers per sq m.I wish Bombayites were to get the Bihari spirit just for a week and then we would see the Delhi Babu's clearing all the metro Corridors held up for financial/planning snafus.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 05 Jun 2009 19:29

mumbaikars are meek sheep.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 05 Jun 2009 22:09

I agree.The way they have elected the same set of nincompoops after 26/11, they deserve nothing less then the miseries they are enduring.Even Maharashtra Govt in its budget today has completely overlooked provisions for Bombay's infrastructure and allocated a lion's share to "Rural parts" in Marathawada and Vidharba.This was no doubt done keeping in view the upcoming assembly elections.
Bombay's abuse by both the centre and state govt's continues...

SRoy · Post by **SRoy** » 05 Jun 2009 22:24

amardeep_s wrote:oye you soft it vity and leg space and arm room demanders, this is for you.
six million out of a total of 18 million daily of passengers travel like this
now if mamta enforces this everywhere, where is the question of fights for space

Sealdah is similar.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 06 Jun 2009 02:59

'Made in India' Metro rolls out.

SAVLI (GUJARAT): Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off what can be called the first truly `Indian' Metro train, from a manufacturing plant near Vadodara. Henceforth, the facility will roll out one Delhi Metro coach a day and wheel it to the capital to cater to the acute overcrowding on the system due to shortage of trains and provide for the new lines opening as part of Phase II.

"This is my third trip to this factory in the past 18 months. Slowly, India and the rest of the world will realize the importance of today's event,'' said Modi.

In all, the manufacturing unit belonging to Bombardier Transportation, will supply a total of 81 train sets comprising 424 broad gauge coaches to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) by October 2010 at a cost of about Rs 3,000 crore. "This is a very proud day for DMRC. Only 24 months ago, in June 2007, we placed an order for 454 coaches with M/s Bombardier Transportation, with a stipulation that it can bring a maximum of 21 train sets from abroad. The company limited their imports to just nine train sets and set up a facility in Gujarat to manufacture the rest. I am very happy that we have achieved indigenousness so soon,'' said E Sreedharan, DMRC managing director.

The day of the rollout World Environment Day is significant as the trains are environment-friendly in design. "We are gifting people an eco-friendly train. Surface transport vehicles contribute to nearly 84% to the carbon emissions in the atmosphere, followed by aeroplanes, which add another 15%. Rail-based transportation comprise for just 1% of these emissions,'' said Modi.

The trains are energy efficient and the cost of the trains is also much lesser compared to their imported counterparts. Sreedharan added that India was trying to minimize costs further by standardization, and has even proposed to the government to make Metro coaches exempt from duties and taxes, otherwise a lot of Indian cities may not be able to afford Metro systems.

The new trains promise a more comfortable ride for Delhiites as they have been made after analyzing the problems with the existing coaches. "Based on the Phase I experience, we have made a lot of changes to the new coaches, said Rajeev Jyoti, president & managing director, India, Bombardier Transportation. The changes include an advanced braking system to keep the noise levels in check as the earlier coaches were very noisy. The airconditioning has also been improved so Delhiites can expect a cooler ride next time they board a Metro train. The bogie design has been improved and the flooring quality upgraded to ensure a smoother ride. Keeping in view the high security threat on the Metro, the coaches are also equipped with CCTV cameras to track unusual movement.

The Delhi Metro currently operates across 78 km and will spread to over 190 km by 2010, making it one of the largest networks in the world. More than two million people are expected to travel by the Delhi Metro daily by next year making the timely delivery of coaches imperative.

The first Bombardier Movia train has been wheeled out of the Savli facility in a record 18 months from the time the factory was set up including the time taken to set up the factory. "This is the fastest in the 150 year old history of Bombardier, and a record even for us, said Stephane Rambaud Measson, president, passengers division, Bombardier Transportation.

The coaches are state-of-the-art these have been made using the most advanced manufacturing technology such as spot-welding robots, being used for the first time in the country for rail carbody manufacturing. The coaches are about 35-40% indigenous, as a large part of the spare parts, have also been manufactured by local vendors.

Omar · Post by **Omar** » 13 Jun 2009 23:12

Corrosion-Resistant Rails for Indian Railways

A detailed alloy development activity was undertaken as a academia-industry-user (IIT Kanpur – Steel Authority of India – Indian Railways) collaborative research program, to invent a novel rail steel of relatively improved corrosion performance than the standard rail steel currently in use.

Given the resistance to localized corrosion offered by Mo, a novel rail steel, which was microalloyed with Cu and Mo additions, was developed by SAIL some time ago. The typical composition of Cu-Mo steel is 0.69C-0.24Cu- 0.18Mo. This rail steel did show promise in field trials, but the high cost of Mo in the Cu-Mo rail steels was an economic disadvantage. In developing the new rail steel, it was important to keep the price of alloying element in mind. In this regard, chromium and copper are cheap as well as abundant.

n view of the improved corrosion performance, the rail steel containing microalloying additions of 0.60% chromium, 0.40% copper and 0.20% nickel was recommended for trial rail manufacture.

ased on the recommendation, 120 tons of 0.60Cr-0.40Cu-0.20Ni rails were processed at Bhilai Steel Plant in June 2007 and 50 tons were welded and laid over a 0.5 km track in the Vijayawada-Gudur section. Another 500 tons of these rails were also processed and laid in East Coast Railways. Recently, in April 2009, Indian Railways has ordered a substantial amount (10000 tons) of the new rail steel for more detailed field studies spread over a larger region. Further, the Cr-Cu-Ni rail composition has been incorporated in the Indian rail standard IRS-T12 specification, recently. Long term testing of rails in a simulated environment corrosion chamber has confirmed the superior corrosion resistance of the Cr-Cu-Ni rail (see Fig. . It is anticipated that the use of these novel rails will result in enormous cost savings for India as well as lead to improved rail safety [7].

p_saggu · Post by **p_saggu** » 14 Jun 2009 10:53

Hopefully Railways will replace the EMU's across the nation with AC metro style trains.

Also railways should go in for Ramps and lifts on each platform in all major stations. The coolies are beginning to charge exorbitantly now. This will:
1. Be more disabled friendly
2. More and more passengers are now moving around with wheeled suitcases, ramps and lifts is the way to go.

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 14 Jun 2009 11:07

There is no doubt that trolleys, ramps, underpasses and lifts are required at stations.

However, given the populist view of the Ministers and the Govts, it will be difficult a proposition since it will cause unemployment for many. Hence, there is the possibility that the Govts (Union and State) will fight shy of doing so.

Some of the prestigious trains should have dining cars so that one could eat in comfort and also the coaches would be cleaner. Currently, the passengers eat out of trays littering the berths and the aisle. One doesn't see the coach cleaning staff that used to come in at halts and clean the coaches.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 15 Jun 2009 11:23

They should seriously do some research on coming out with coaches that have minimal nuts and bolts

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 15 Jun 2009 11:32

Meanwhile, Railways using scrap to make wheels

Senior Railway Board officials said the Railway Wagon Factory in Bangalore has made a major headway in this regard using about 1.2 lakh ton of scrap metals for rolling out wheels.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Jun 2009 07:37

The Trichy Golden Rock Railway Workshop has been doing significant work and is being modernized now

Excerpts

The Southern Railway headquarters has approved a detailed estimate for the modernisation of the over 80-year-old Golden Rock Railway Workshop here for which funds to the tune of Rs. 90.27 crore has been sanctioned.

Bulk of the funds amounting to Rs. 68.78 crore would be spent for acquiring modern mechanical equipment and replacement of the old machines, while Rs. 15.14 crore would be utilised for augmenting infrastructure facilities and repairs of structures under ‘civil’ works.

A special purpose multi-station machine –‘PAMA’ - costing Rs. 40 crore for carrying out repairs of engine blocks; a robotic welding system with automation and portable plasma profile cutting machine are some of the major advanced equipment to be procured under the modernisation plan.

Modernisation of the workshop will enhance the wagon production capacity from 560 to 1,000 wagons per year besides enabling it to carry out POH of 160 diesel locos per annum from 120 locos now.

The POH of air-conditioned coaches will double from 120 to 240

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 18 Jun 2009 16:23

We need 200 mph railway connecting metro's around the country. We also need similar speed railways lines connecting metro's to its suburban regions for commuters living in nearby suburben regions to travel into and out of the city quickly. This will result in stopping people thronging the city and make it dense and difficult to manage.
Atleast they can connect some cities like (Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Pune), (Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore), (Delhi, Chandigadh, Amritsar,Jaipur, Lucknow) and (Calcutta, Bhubaneshwar, Patna). This will speed up urban and tourist transport and will definately help Indian industries in long run.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 18 Jun 2009 17:33

ashish raval wrote:We need 200 mph railway connecting metro's around the country. We also need similar speed railways lines connecting metro's to its suburban regions for commuters living in nearby suburben regions to travel into and out of the city quickly. This will result in stopping people thronging the city and make it dense and difficult to manage.
Atleast they can connect some cities like (Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Pune), (Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore), (Delhi, Chandigadh, Amritsar,Jaipur, Lucknow) and (Calcutta, Bhubaneshwar, Patna). This will speed up urban and tourist transport and will definately help Indian industries in long run.

This needs something really radical. Something on the lines of Golden Quadrilateral is neccessity. Everytime feasibility report is done due to high costs etc..etc..highspeed trains are put on back burner. Lethargy shown due to cost factor, land acquisition is just lame reason and is going to prove very expensive. If GoI was ever serious about transportation, infrastructure etc. then running metro rails within Mumbai and Delhi would have been thing of past and high speed train project between cities clocking 250kmp could have been close to its completion. India doesnt need to get in competition with France or Japan to make a futuristic railway system. All India needs is speedier, scalable, efficient, robust trains running between metros which will itself cover tier2 and tier3 cities in the way. But, look here we are still talking about running new age metro trains in Mumbai.

Added later: Express train between Mumbai-Ahmedabad still takes more then 9hrs to cover less then 500km(54kmph) unless you travel in Shatabdi which takes more then 6hrs(81kmph)

. If not mistaken Mum-Ahd is also one of the most revenue earning (and busiest) route in IR.

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 18 Jun 2009 18:32

^^ yes Gaurav, you are right. Although we are not to/cannot compete with France/Japan in high-speed rail which are moving to fourth generation railway system, we can atleast have decent third generation 200mph trains which reduces the travelling time by more than 80% on current scale. Cost should not be an issue, I guess if every country sleeps while thinking on cost then world would have been still using diesel engines used by Indian railways which no one uses except African nations. What these idiot policy babu's fail/dont understand is the amount of technical knowledge and R&D it will develop in the country which is absolutely crucial for us to move forward. I guess there is also shooting in foot attitude to not allow Engineering/Technology overpower babudom heirarchy which clearly wants to cling to power and keep Engineering/Technology development at the mercy of Babu's. As far as Ahd-Mumbai link is concerned, NM clearly pushed for it to Lalu who clearly dumbed it down on cost issues. Now, how can a nation move forward when its leaders have such myopic vision. It will not only chock India of a great leap which it needs to make inorder to reach to level of China and above but it will also leave essentially same type of India for next generation of kids which will laugh on its early generation for being stupid and incompetant. A nation without a will/vision to develop is a nation dead now matter how much it tries.

Akshut · Post by **Akshut** » 18 Jun 2009 18:50

Show me the money please...

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 18 Jun 2009 19:01

Selling the stakes to private companies who wants to operate on this lines on an annual revenue basis while Railways undertake overall development and maintenance work. I am sure they will make profit as most nations do. I dont have any reason to believe otherwise. If Railways or GoI dont have money, there are plentiful loans available from ADB/WB/IMF/JAPAN etc. I am sure Japanese will be happy to invest as they are already developing Mumbai-Delhi corridor.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 18 Jun 2009 19:39

The biggest hurdles are

1. Land acquisition (not enough money given to people and subsequent lawsuits).
2. Encroachment of the government land.
3. Lawsuits by Environmental nazis like "Railways is cutting the trees"

So the bottom line is that the solution has to be sort of Delhi Metro to use the current land by going up instead of going wide.

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 18 Jun 2009 19:55

SBajwa wrote:The biggest hurdles are

1. Land acquisition (not enough money given to people and subsequent lawsuits).
2. Encroachment of the government land.
3. Lawsuits by Environmental nazis like "Railways is cutting the trees"

So the bottom line is that the solution has to be sort of Delhi Metro to use the current land by going up instead of going wide.

I dont know why other countries dont face this problems !! They too have same democratic issues to deal with except China where people are just lease owners. Environmental nazis can be taken care of by planting 5 times more trees than which is cut down. Least GoI can do is to carry out a definite feasibility study with a will to implement a project on a trial basis and if it is successful it can be replicated elsewhere. Delhi Metro is good example but extending these to more suburban areas will reduce housing/traffic problems in the capital.

vipins · Post by **vipins** » 18 Jun 2009 21:46

SBajwa wrote:The biggest hurdles are

1. Land acquisition (not enough money given to people and subsequent lawsuits).
2. Encroachment of the government land.
3. Lawsuits by Environmental nazis like "Railways is cutting the trees"

So the bottom line is that the solution has to be sort of Delhi Metro to use the current land by going up instead of going wide.

And to add to above points,another problem is safety.
Project to start high speed(by increasing speed of Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi from 120kms/hr to 150Kms/hr

) train between Delhi-Agra required walls been built by the track to stop people and stray cattle from trespassing.

It would need a dedicated (elevated or underground) track for higher speeds to be attained
otherwise probability of some big accident happening will be very high.

rachel · Post by **rachel** » 19 Jun 2009 01:21

Very true Indians are very indisciplined.. put up as many signs as you want, but they'll cross the 200 km/hr tracks. Even in more disciplined European nations, France fences off their tracks (mor for cattle than people tho).

Lotsa money involved, land for the tracks, fences thru-out, underpasses and overpasses .. not only ofr cars etc but also for farmers and cattle to cross over to other side.

Probably impossible pipe dream for India. Too bad .. I am a big fan of fast efficient trains.

Dileep · Post by **Dileep** » 19 Jun 2009 11:43

I guess if every country sleeps while thinking on cost then world would have been still using diesel engines used by Indian railways which no one uses except African nations.

I lived close to a big main line system in USA which is not electrified. Six diesel engines pulling three mile long goods rakes is a regular sight there.

Even fencing is not going to help. People will gladly hack a way through. Elevated track is the ONLY workable option in India.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Jun 2009 18:01

need I say more ? this is a famous clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuJtRydBlsc

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 20 Jun 2009 12:37

Singha wrote:need I say more ? this is a famous clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuJtRydBlsc

Holy $hit!

This video tells all about our lack of discipline and rules. The station in the clip looks like a fairly decent one and definitely will have an overbridge....yet how can one get rid of the penchant to take a "shortcut" (in this case, almost to hell!)??

.

My grandfather (father's side) once got hit head-on by a speeding steam locomotive while doing track inspection. He used to work for IR back then and was doing a track inspection on a repaired line (using those 4 wheeled contraptions you still see being at stations pushed by 2 workers). Due to some signaling fault, a train which was supposed to simply pass thru the station at high speed, got diverted on to his track. By some miracle, he survived (and spent 14 months in hospital) but the rest of the 5 men died immediately. He always did have bad luck with trains and in fact cheated death in another train accident but that would be OT here.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 20 Jun 2009 12:50

Raja Bose wrote:Holy $hit! This video tells all about our lack of discipline and rules. The station in the clip looks like a fairly decent one and definitely will have an overbridge....yet how can one get rid of the penchant to take a "shortcut" (in this case, almost to hell!)?? .

This happens at every small or big station regardless of overbridge or not. People in desh are only worried about stepping on all kind of $hit and not trains while crossing tracks

. IMO imposing heavy fines with strict enforcement and upgrading stations to accomodate elevators will surely discourage crossing of tracks. This culture is so common that anyone can easily get tempted to use shortcut.

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 20 Jun 2009 23:14

Climbing the steps to the bridge to cross the railway tracks is an orderal to many, especially those who have luggage or are old or infirm.

If escalators are there, then the problem of crossing the railway tracks would be eliminated.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 21 Jun 2009 00:03

Personally, I'm not inclined to think the primary hurdle in front of high speed railways is the civic sense of our population. Regardless of where you are, a high human/animal population necessitates special measures when building and operating an HSR, whether it be barriers to cattle in France, or measures to address tunnel booms in hilly Japan. Those strange duck-shaped Shinkansen trains in Japan were borne out of decades of research on minimizing tunnel booms. HSRs are high cost, high maintenance solutions. The primary issue with them, IMHO, is land acquisition.

Civic sense doesn't come out of nothing. It requires a careful understanding of the more effective implementation of public utilities, that provide sufficient incentive for people not to take matters into their own hands. There's no single solution that can be applied everywhere - a large city station has different imperatives from a small remote one. Given the right settings, people do behave very well, and I personally give more respect to their ability to use properly implemented facilities well.

Our current railway stations are not necessarily user friendly. Those overbridges are hard to carry suitcases up. All amenities seem to be some cookie-cutter solutions from 50 years ago - the dingy canteens, overnight stay rooms and bath areas, badly planned arrival/departure options. At least the major terminus stations in big cities need a significant overhaul in this regard. Our airports are improving significantly, but our railway stations are being increasingly outpaced. HSRs should be viewed from the perspective of giving a general facelift to railway facilities. They are not about the photogenic trains alone.

Rishirishi · Post by **Rishirishi** » 21 Jun 2009 03:54

Suraj wrote:Personally, I'm not inclined to think the primary hurdle in front of high speed railways is the civic sense of our population. Regardless of where you are, a high human/animal population necessitates special measures when building and operating an HSR, whether it be barriers to cattle in France, or measures to address tunnel booms in hilly Japan. Those strange duck-shaped Shinkansen trains in Japan were borne out of decades of research on minimizing tunnel booms. HSRs are high cost, high maintenance solutions. The primary issue with them, IMHO, is land acquisition.

Civic sense doesn't come out of nothing. It requires a careful understanding of the more effective implementation of public utilities, that provide sufficient incentive for people not to take matters into their own hands. There's no single solution that can be applied everywhere - a large city station has different imperatives from a small remote one. Given the right settings, people do behave very well, and I personally give more respect to their ability to use properly implemented facilities well.

Our current railway stations are not necessarily user friendly. Those overbridges are hard to carry suitcases up. All amenities seem to be some cookie-cutter solutions from 50 years ago - the dingy canteens, overnight stay rooms and bath areas, badly planned arrival/departure options. At least the major terminus stations in big cities need a significant overhaul in this regard. Our airports are improving significantly, but our railway stations are being increasingly outpaced. HSRs should be viewed from the perspective of giving a general facelift to railway facilities. They are not about the photogenic trains alone.

When people are able to show some civic sense in the air, I am sure it can work for the trains as well. In China they have managed to build high speed network between major cities, and are expanding the network. The question is weather the money can be used better place.

For a starter, I would be happy if IR managed to uppgrade to modern coaches, running the average speeds of 160 km per hours (something which is being done, but at a slow pace). New signal systems could make dramatic impacts on the speed and efficiency.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 21 Jun 2009 04:52

steps are steep and a hastle for old and those with luggage

if they were ramps thats probably better.

Escalator maybe although not sure how it will bear the loads which we see at stations

SK Mody · Post by **SK Mody** » 21 Jun 2009 05:03

Personally, I'm not inclined to think the primary hurdle in front of high speed railways is the civic sense of our population.

When people are able to show some civic sense in the air, I am sure it can work for the trains as well.

Fully agree with this. The design of any urban public spaces and other urban amenities in India is generally unspeakably bad - even after ignoring the maintenance issues. This is an example of a purely technological and human resource problem.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 21 Jun 2009 11:36

Whilst discussing implementing new technology and costs revolving it one needs to keep this in mind. There is no doubt that high speed trains cost fortune to any country especially like India (developing, 3rd world you know

). Like tracks that can resist pressure of trains doing 200kmph or more, securing tracks for safe run (fencing,elevation, walls etc), special coaches, new platforms, signalling etc etc needs much more funds then upgrading airports. First instance of such implementation is going to be expensive compared to subsequent implementations. This same happened with DMRC coaches which were initially imported but now made in India. Cost of implementation needs to be justified vis vis direct and indirect economical, technological, social benefits in case of India. Also, not implementing high speed trains due to lack of civic sense shouldnt be the case.

OTOH even general railway infrastructure is way behind and has never kept with the pace. One cant even expect basic facilities like cleaner toilets, proper resting place, clean platforms or elevators/escalators for carrying luggage. This needs thinking if spending billions on high speed trains is justifiable when just general IR infrastructure is in completely bad shape.

How about gradually phasing out British era tracks with new tracks that can sustain 200kmph trains, better signaling, improved coaches and general infrastructure on platforms rather then implementing whole new high speed trains project. JMT.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 21 Jun 2009 18:25

RayC wrote:Climbing the steps to the bridge to cross the railway tracks is an orderal to many, especially those who have luggage or are old or infirm.

If escalators are there, then the problem of crossing the railway tracks would be eliminated.

I doubt escalators will make any difference, you can only put those rails on the steps , not on the whole foot over bridges. The basic argument that these people who dont use the foot over bridges is that "i can cross faster by doing this than using the foot over brige"

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 22 Jun 2009 04:45

Pedestrian crossings like the ones built for vehicles may work better than the over bridges. Most railway stations have trains passing through infrequently, so people can just cross over the tracks for most of the time instead of using the overbridge.

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 22 Jun 2009 09:06

Something of this sort...

The gates are electronically controlled to shut a few seconds before a train passes by,but this would require a massive up gradation in the headcar to be equipped with GPS to monitor the proximity to a station and manage the singalling system.

Drawback: Will leave a lot of IR employees without a job...

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 22 Jun 2009 15:36

mmasand wrote:The gates are electronically controlled to shut a few seconds before a train passes by,

This may have its own repurcussions as vehicles would try to speed past the closing gate, and it can get trapped in between. In case of a gate with a gate keeper, he can try to lift the barriers to allow the speeding idiot to pass through. But in case of automatic barriers that will not happen. It is only a sense of discipline amongst road users which can save them from the onslaught of trains. Some people still believe that tractors etc. can outsmart trains

.

Drawback: Will leave a lot of IR employees without a job...

This would be like what Laloo did (?). Reduction of recruitment to posts like gang men, the chaps who walk on the track patrolling and maintaining the tracks. It was a low paid, low education reqd job, but all said and done a small mistake from such group would have caused huge disasters. Many railway enthusiasts felt that we were only inviting more problems by reducing such a crucial work force.

Dileep · Post by **Dileep** » 22 Jun 2009 15:47

An automatic pedestrian gate would not work when people are scrambling to reach a platform to jump into a train about to depart. I have seen people do extremely dangerous things to cross the tracks between platforms, like dodging an advancing loco, or crawling under a goods wagon.

There are two aspects here.

1. Providing basic facility to safely cross the tracks
2. Preventing people from taking risks and get killed.

1 is the responsibility of Railways. The stairs and footbridge is clearly inadequate. I think a ramp would do better. 2 can't be achieved in our society with a reasonable cost, so I say if people want to take risk and get killed, let them.

Same is true for level crossings. Railway has the responsibility to provide a reliable gate system so that drivers can stop the vehicles when a train is approaching. I don't think we need to put the effort and resources to prevent a stoopid tractor driver from going around the gate and get killed.

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 22 Jun 2009 17:03

Sachin saar ...no vehicles other than motorbikes and cycles would be to use this gate as it would be too narrow and furthermore bollards can be installed only allowing people movement...

Of course we need to stop restricting people from using dangerous means ,but you know human nature.When ur not supposed to do something,we do it to gain thrill!! It probably needs more education and awareness of consequences if anything to discourage commuters from crossing tracks.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 22 Jun 2009 17:06

It needs common sense which no amount of education will teach you

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 23 Jun 2009 09:34

krishnan wrote:It needs common sense which no amount of education will teach you

Unfortunately 'Common sense is not that common'...

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 23 Jun 2009 09:38

Dileep,mmasand,krishnan

Agree with most of the points here. Railways have been doing what ever it can. We cannot have automatically operated wicket gates, as people would try to jump over it. Railway gates have been provided at road level crossings. Only a few of them are now not in the "inter-locked" mode. In case of an interlocked railway gate, the train signals will remain at 'ON' if the gate is not closed.

Even with railway gates, you can find a small wicket-gates. This is basically for pedestrians to cross over. Cyclists can easily lift the cycle over their heads and use this wicket gate to cross. And this happens even when a train is approaching. My home being close to a station and railway gate, I have seen this happening. Off course, I have not seen any one getting really too close to the train, and back off.

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 23 Jun 2009 09:57

Well i guess considering the density of the commuters,it is something we will have to take to the drawing table rather than import a foreign solution to a unique problem.No matter how much you restraint people,they will always find a way out.So it is really about reducing the numbers,stopping it will be impractical and expensive.