Level crossings not shut, delay CR services during peak hours

Non-closure of level crossings near Kalwa and Diva railway stations are causing delays in local train services operated by the Central Railway (CR). Nearly 192 local trains are running on an average delay of 12 minutes and on Wednesday, slow suburban train services during peak hours were delayed by over 20 minutes near Kalwa station because the level crossing was opened for 20 minutes at 8.45pm.

“The punctuality of trains is affected because of the frequent opening of level crossing gates,” said Anil Kumar Jain, senior public relation officer, CR. The level crossing at Kalwa railway station opens more than 30 times in a day, each time for five minutes. This leads to bunching of suburban train services. At Diva railway station, the level crossing opens 15 times in a day, delaying local trains on the fast line corridor and outstation trains.

“We have started work on a road overbridge (RoB) at Diva railway station and have completed work on a ROB at Kalwa railway station. However, local bodies should understand the importance of suburban trains,” said Jain. Although the CR has completed the construction of the RoB near Kalwa railway station, the landing of the bridge is yet to be constructed by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

“The railway portion of the bridge at Kalwa is completed while the landing is to be done. However, there appears to be some land issue. We have requested the TMC to complete the work fast,” said a senior CR official.

The official said work on the ROB at Diva is expected to start after the monsoon. “In order to shut the level crossing gate at Diva railway station, a RoB is being constructed along with Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC). We have started the survey work for the construction work and plan to commence work after monsoon,” said the official.

The level crossing is left open due to two- and four-wheeler traffic. Nearly 192 local train services during peak hours are delayed on an average due to the non-closure of the gates at the level crossing. CR has approached the traffic police to ensure traffic is managed near the level crossing gates, particularly during peak hours.

“Delays of up to 12 minutes occurs in the span of one hour due to the non-shutting of the level crossing gates on time. Despite the gates being manned most of the time, it becomes very difficult to close the gates,” said a senior CR official. Indian Railways across all zones is working on eliminating level crossing gates by constructing RoBs in collaboration with local municipal authorities.