Railway authorities’ measures fail to curb trespassing on tracks

PUNE: Measures taken by the Pune rail division to curb trespassing on railway tracks have not yielded the desired result.
From January to September this year, as many as 207 people died while crossing the tracks, while 50 were critically injured.



Last year, 307 people lost their lives while crossing the tracks, sources said, adding that this year’s figure could be even more. While the railway officials have often spoken about measures such as barricading and slapping of fines, the figures prove that all these measures have had little or no effect.

The officials said that a fresh strategy, which involves RPF men patrolling the tracks posing as passengers in civil clothes, will be adopted soon. “We have tried to control the menace but things have not worked the way they should have. Until September this year, Rs 5.04 lakh was collected as fine for the offence,” an official told TOI.

He said while several spots had been identified and steps such as barricading were taken, trespassing could not be stopped.

“The most vulnerable spots are Pimpri and Chinchwad stations, Akurdi, Dehu Road, Talegaon, among others. Akurdi is the most affected and despite several measures in addition to fines, such as awareness through pamphlets, posters and banners and holding local level meetings with the people, the result has been minimal. People, in a bid to save time, tend to cross the tracks to go to the other side, which is dangerous as they think that an approaching train is far off. They, however, don’t realise the speed of the train. Moreover, the double diamond-shaped tracks here result in the train coming faster than expected,” the official added.

Another official said that while a fresh strategy was being thought of and would be finalised soon, the immediate plan was to press the Railway Protection Force for better patrolling.

“They shouldn’t be in uniforms since people breaking the rules identify them and flee. A plan to deploy RPF men in plain clothes is being worked out. They will be told to mingle with passengers and, once they spot anyone trespassing, they can take immediate action,” the official said.

People caught are taken to the court and are not let off by the personnel under any circumstances. “While we do this, we need to step up awareness drive. The railways are coordinating with the district administration to remove encroachments near the rail tracks. The work, unfortunately, has been slow and we do hope it catches pace soon,” the official said.