In yet another tragic accident at an unguarded level-crossing in Chittagong city on March 11 last, four women garment workers were killed and a dozen others injured. The mishap took place around 8 am in Chandgaon area in the port city when a train hit a minibus carrying garment workers. Eyewitnesses said that the minibus with more than 30 workers of Base Textiles Ltd aboard was passing through the level-crossing at Chandgaon. The minibus suddenly halted on the railway tracks when the Chittagong-bound train from Dohazari reached the unmanned level-crossing. The driver of the minibus was found talking over cell phone. Many passengers and the driver escaped from the minibus before the train hit the vehicle and dragged it some 30 yards away.
Press reports say that during the last three years, 47 accidents at level-crossings took place in the port city under the east zone of Bangladesh Railway (BR) which claimed the lives of 31 people. Quoting a BR source, a Bengali daily reported that most of the accidents took place when the drivers of the vehicles were found talking over cell phone while passing through the level crossings.
The level-crossing at Chandgaon is a busy spot as a good number of factories are located nearby. Commuters complain that the road at the level-crossing is in a poor condition with potholes and craters abound. An official of the railway said that the locomotive driver tried to stop when he saw the minibus on the track, but failed. A signboard which hangs near the level-crossing cautions the commuters to use it at their own risk. As per rule two gate keepers are supposed to man this level-crossing. But during the last six years no gate keeper could be placed by the railway authority due to shortage of manpower.
The railway authorities, as usual, formed two separate committees to probe into the incident. The tragedy at Chandgaon level-crossing, once again, exposes inherent weakness of traffic management by the authorities concerned. We know that level-crossing is a place where a railway and a road cross each other on the same level. The crossing is manned by railway employees who pull down bars on both sides of the track to prevent the movement of vehicular traffic long before a running train passes through the spot.
Primarily, it should be the responsibility of the railway authority to guard the level crossings. Three separate authorities including the railway are assigned to maintain level-crossings. The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) are two other agencies involved in it.
Earlier we reported in this column that out of 2541 level-crossings in the country, 1500 are unauthorised. All the 1500 unauthorised level-crossings have no rail gate. This has exposed the users of these places to serious hazards. The railway sources say that before construction of roads through the railway track, the relevant agency should seek permission of the railway authority. But none of the agencies is abiding by the rule. As a result, the number of unauthorised level-crossings is gradually increasing. This has also resulted in frequent accidents.
With regard to construction of roads on a railway track, the respective agencies, either RHD or local bodies, must install rail gate at their own costs. After a rail gate is built, the railway authority will put a gateman there. On the other hand, the LGED says that the number of roads is increasing day by day and as such the level-crossings are also on the rise. The LGED says as per rule they are not supposed to construct rail gate at their own cost and that there should be a national policy on the matter. The RHD, on the other hand, says the level-crossings, in most cases on its roads, are authorised. It is the task of the railway authority to post gatemen there.
More than a year ago, the railway authority had started collecting information on authorised and unauthorised level-crossings. With regard to authorised level-crossings, one can reasonably argue why gatemen were not present at the time of passing of a train through the spots. Many tragic accidents could be avoided if the rail gates were kept closed during the movement of trains.
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