Pedestrian path unlikely across tracks in Majerhat

KOLKATA: The Railway Board may have cleared a temporary level crossing at Majerhat, but a pedestrian pathway across the tracks was highly unlikely, officials informed the Bengal government. The PWD is building two roads, one of which will cross the temporary level crossing. The state urged railways to allow a pedestrian pathway across tracks along the other.

“The question doesn’t arise. In railway parlance, there is nothing called a pedestrian pathway across tracks. There can either be foot overbridges (FOBs) or pathways on the sides of road overbridges (ROBs). Apart from this, passengers may cross a level crossing when it is open. If a person crosses the tracks or walks along it, however, he is considered a trespasser,” a senior Eastern Railway (ER) official said.

The PWD and Kolkata Police maintain that a pedestrian pathway would help as people could get off buses at the Behala end of the Majerhat Bridge, walk across the tracks and a Bailey bridge across the canal, before boarding another bus at the Mominpore end. However, this concept hasn’t found appeal with the railways.

“This is something that has never happened anywhere in the country and is practically impossible. How can one expect trains to stop for every person who crosses the tracks,” another ER official said.

Railway officials also wanted to know if the state would take responsibility for somebody being run over at the proposed pedestrian crossing across tracks.