Guwahati: Northeast Frontier Railway looks to removing manned level crossings in city

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is looking towards the possibility of eliminating manned level crossings (LCs) in the city of Guwahati. 

The NFR is exploring the feasibility of eliminating the manned LCs in Guwahati which are located between Kamakhya and Narengi. The railways are looking to replace the LCs with Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs). The move comes in even as the railways hope that it will lead to smoother vehicular traffic and train movement within the city limits. 

Speaking to India Today NE, NFR's chief public relations officer (CPRO), Sabyasachi De talked of the railway's plans to remove LCs with RUBs and ROBs.

"The moment a railway crossing comes into the railway infrastructure, the average speed of train movement reduces. Secondly, the level crossing is a blockade to the traffic of the city. Our aim is that there should be no level crossings in the new lines which are coming up. So all the places where they were supposed to be level crossings have been replaced with RUBs or ROBs. Our aim is to remove most of them wherever there is feasibility," said De. 

There are 13 manned LC gates in Guwahati, which include eight between Kamakhya and Guwahati railway station. Apart from these, five LC gates are between the Guwahati railway station and Narengi. 

The NFR authorities have already discussed this matter with the Assam government and work is currently underway to convert one of the LC gates at the Kamakhya railway station into a RUB is currently underway. The construction of ROB or RUB is being done on a 50 per cent cost-sharing basis with the government. De said that the first need is to undertake feasibility studies at all the locations as the city of Guwahati has developed around the railway lines passing through it. 

"Even if we create an ROB or a RUB, the feasibility factor has to be considered because of all the constraints which we have. Had it been a lone line going through an open field, we would have create a ROB or RUB wherever possible at the LC gate. But being in a city, we have to see the feasibility. The LC gate ST-1 near Kamakhya is now being removed, and the work of RUB is going on. Similarly there are other LC gates where we are doing the feasibility study," said the NFR CPRO. 

While the LC gate ST-1 near Kamakhya is getting replaced with an ROB, the railways are also exploring options to remove more LC gates in Guwahati city in the near future. 

"We are waiting for the reports to come in about the feasibility studies that are being conducted on the LC gates within the Guwahati area. After we get a comprehensive look, then only we will be able to say anything in this regard," said De. 

The ST-1 LC gate near Kamakhya is targeted for completion within the current financial year, that is March 2024.

While the possibilities of removing LC gates is currently being explored by the railways, the process has already been completed in other places of the state. De said that LC gates have been successfully replaced with ROBs in places such as Jorhat, Basugaon, Hojai, Panikhaiti, and others. De said that the LC gates could be replaced as these are low population density areas and the feasibility is available to replace the LC gates with ROBs.  

Noteworthy here is that Centre has already allocated Rs 8000 crore during the fiscal year 2023-24 for the conversion of manned LC gates to ROBs and RUBs across the country. This had been stated by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav during the Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha earlier this year.