North Eastern Railway reported highest casualties on unmanned level crossings in last 4 years

AGRA: North Eastern Railway (NER) zone reported 65 human casualties on unmanned level crossings (UMLCs) in the last four years and four months. The casualty figure was highest among the 16 railway zones in the country, revealed the Railway Board in response to an RTI query.
On April 26, 13 children died on the spot while four others suffered injuries when the school van they were travelling in collided with a train at an unmanned crossing in Duddhi area of Kushinagar district.
According to the RTI reply, between 2014 and the end of April 2018, 265 people died and 162 sustained injuries in 110 accidents on UMLCs across 16 railway zones in the country. The maximum casualties were reported from NER zone, with Varanasi division accounting for 64 of 65 deaths. During this period, 26 people were also injured in 15 accidents in this zone.
Sanjay Yadav, chief public relations officer of NER, said, “These casualties occurred due to negligence on part of drivers who did not pay heed to the warning of gate mitras posted on UMLCs. Use of mobile phones and earplugs was among some of the major reasons behind these accidents.”
According to official data, there are 175 UMLCs on meter gauge and 458 UMLCs on broad guage in NER zone. Some of the broad guage UMLCs have been removed.
Following NER, Northern Railway zone reported 60 human casualties and 47 injuries in 25 accidents on UMLCs, North Western Railway reported 54 deaths and 19 injuries in 18 accidents, East Central Railway 24 deaths and 14 injuries in 11 accidents and South Eastern Railway 11 deaths and eight injuries in five accidents.
The gradual elimination of unmanned level crossings has resulted in a steady decrease in the number of accidents on such locations — from 50 in 2014-2015 to 29 in 2015-2016, 20 in 2016-2017, 10 in 2017-2018 and one so far this year.