ECoR initiates safety audit of all level crossings

Bhubaneswar, Jan 20 (IANS) The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has ordered a large scale safety audit of all level crossings in its jurisdiction, an official said on Sunday.

The move came after the Tapaswini Express crossed a level crossing in open condition near Odisha's Puri on Saturday.

ECoR General Manager Purnendu Sekhar Mishra has called upon all staff and officers to identify weaknesses in the system and bring them to the fore.

"Unless we admit that there are mistakes or deficiencies, we cannot expect the system to grow and change for the better. Unless we admit that there are deficiencies, we cannot expect the deficiencies to be removed," he said.

He has asked senior officials to interact with junior colleagues to know more about problems in the field.

There are 828 level crossings in ECoR jurisdiction, out of which Odisha has 559. While there are 224 level crossings in Andhra Pradesh, 45 are in Chhattisgarh.

The audit will cover all safety aspects of the level crossings. Starting from the boom barriers to the approach road, the siren to the warning boards, all aspects will be checked in detail, said an ECoR statement.

The level crossing gatemen will be subjected to tests on their working knowledge. The level crossing drawings will also be matched with the actual ground position to rule out any inconsistencies, the statement said.

Loco pilots will also be tested for awareness of rules related to crossing the level crossings. These tests will be in the form of counselling and in interactive mode.

This safety drive will be one of the largest to be carried out by any zonal railway. Covering each level crossing in the zone will be a big task, but it has been ordered to be done at the earliest, the ECoR said.