• There are 8 railway level-crossings between Kamakhya and Guwahati railway station
• There are 13 railway level-crossings between Kamakhya and Narengi
• On average 82 trains cross a level-crossing daily
• A gate closes for approximately 13 minutes for a train to pass
• The crossing gates remain closed for approximately 18 hours
• Commuters get only 6 hours to commute through the level-crossings
• The TVU ratings calculated every year suggest that at least 12 level-crossings must have over-bridges
Residents of Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar, Aathgaon, etc., talking to G Plus, said that commuting from one place to another through the level crossings often pose insurmountable odds as the gates remain closed most of the time due to train passage. Every time the gates are raised the traffic jam is beyond manageable.
Exactly how many level crossings are there in Guwahati? For what length of time do the gates remain closed on a daily basis? Who is responsible for making road over-bridges or under passes at the crossings that could ease traffic and why are the authorities not doing the same? Which are the crossings where bridges have become imperative and how can this be determined? G Plus tries to explore some possible situations.
The crossings and train vehicular unit
According to highly placed sources in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) there are 13 level crossings between Kamakhya and Narengi; 8 of these are between Kamakhya and Guwahati railway station. The source said that NFR is aware of the problem faced by the local people because of level-crossings and therefore the Railway conducts a yearly survey to determine the Train Vehicular Unit (TVU) and to understand which level crossings should be converted into road over-bridges or under passes. According to the source, the Railway, before constructing any railway track, studies the TVU of every crossing and decides whether there should be an over-bridge or an under pass. TVU is determined by an arithmetic calculation after studying the number of vehicles passing a particular crossing and also the number of trains passing the same crossings. According to the source if the TVU of a particular crossing is found to be more than 1 lakh units then that crossing requires a road over-bridge. The source said that before constructing the broad gauge track line in Guwahati in 1984, the TVUs for all the crossings were studied and wherever it was deemed necessary an over-bridge was made. The source also said that the Railway does a survey where every year a TVU is calculated for every crossing and till the next ten years of construction of railway tracks, if it is found that the TVU of a particular crossing requires an over-bridge or an under pass then the railways constructs it at its own expense. Beyond ten years the responsibility is shifted to the government which owns the road, and while the yearly TVU calculation is continued, the resultant data is sent to the state and the central governments. Now, after ten years if it is found that the TVU has exceeded 1 lakh units at a particular crossing, the state or the central government sends a proposal to the railways to construct an under pass or over-bridge at the crossing for which the railways bear 50% of the construction cost. Given this, what is the present TVU of all the crossings in Guwahati? G Plus studies the TVU units to find out which level-crossings require under passes or over-bridges with the knowledge that if the TVU is above 80,000 units the requirement is an under pass and if it is above 1 lakh units, the crossing requires an over-bridge.
Approximate time for which the gates are open
Talking to sources in NFR it was known that calculation and pinpointing the exact timings that a particular gate remains closed is very difficult as the same is never calculated. G Plus also talked to senior officers at Guwahati Railway Station who said that the exact time for which the gate is kept open or closed cannot be specifically stated as before the arrival of a train all the level crossings receive a signal that the gates have to be closed. Now, if one gate closes at a particular time, the other might close a bit later depending on vehicles that are in the process of passing through the crossing. The gateman has to wait till the track is free to close the gate. When all the gates are closed an automatic signal is sent to the train allowing it to pass the crossing. G Plus visited some gates to observe the time lapse between closing the gate, passage of the train and thereafter, reopening of the gate. After observing 7 trains it was found that the gates remained closed for anything between 12 minutes to 18 minutes. Talking to the gateman at Jail Road level crossing he, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said that the gate is closed approximately for 10 to 15 minutes every time a train passes. He also said that sometimes the gates are also closed for shunting of trains. Engines are often tested, removed or fixed and not all gates are closed for this activity; only the relevant gates are closed and so it depends from gate to gate. But he added that on average, level-crossings are closed for 13 minutes per train passage. So it can be safely stated that a gate closes for approximately 13 minutes every time a train passes. From the TVU chart and the average of all the crossings it can be seen that approximately 82 trains in total pass through a level-crossing every day. So, if 82 trains pass a particular crossing and if the gate is closed for approximately 13 minutes every time a train crosses, the particular gate remains closed for approximately an astounding 18 hours every day. Vehicles get only 6 hours a day to commute through the crossings!
