New Delhi, March 26 Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a workshop with officials from all railway zones on Thursday and directed them to devise a plan to construct underpasses around settlement areas to ensure that people can cross the tracks safely.
The Railway Ministry has planned to cover all settlement areas in the vicinity of railway tracks across the country in the next five to six years, according to an official statement.
Vaishnaw asked the officials to design the underpasses in such a way that people feel comfortable using them, and that these underpasses should not experience waterlogging during the monsoon season.
"These underpasses will be built near settlements where local residents frequently need to cross the track for their daily activities. This initiative is aimed at preventing accidents while crossing railway tracks," the ministry said in the statement.
"The ministry plans to cover all settlement areas within the vicinity of the railway track across the country in another five to six years. These will be constructed in such a way that the installations will take only 12 hours to block rail traffic," it added.
Officials said that in many places, there are residential areas on one side of the track and farms, schools, crematoriums, and other establishments are on the other side.
"Several cases of accidents are being reported from various parts of the country every day. The underpasses will prevent accidents while crossing the tracks. These underpasses will prove to be a boon for a large population of the country," an official said.
The decision to build the railway bridge is the result of several days of consultations with officials, the press note said.