Mangaluru: The Palakkad Division of Southern Railway recently organised a roadshow from Palakkad Town Railway Station to Pollachi Junction to create awareness about safety precautions to be taken by road users at level crossings.

The show, inaugurated by Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer and in-charge Safety Officer S. Jayakrishnan, was a part of Railways’ International Level Crossing Awareness Day to be observed on June 7, an official release here stated. The 57.87 km route between Palakkad and Pollachi has the highest concentration of level crossing gates, 25 in number, in Palakkad Division.

As a part of the awareness drive, Safety Department Officials will visit all the level crossings in the section and interact with road users on safety aspects to be followed. Pamphlets containing instructions on safe practices at Level Crossings are also being distributing to the road users.

The Division has 155 manned level crossings while there are no unmanned crossings. Road vehicles hitting on the Level Crossings Gates is the major safety issue faced by the Division with 11 such incidents being reported in the last two months.

In Mangaluru area, one each incident of vehicles hitting crossings were reported from level crossing no. 6 at Padil – Jokkatte, level crossing no. 293 at Netravathi and level crossing no. 293 A between Mangaluru and Netravathi. As many as 35 such incidents were reported in the entire Division during 2017-18.

Statistics reveal that in all cases public service vehicles, particularly, goods vehicles, were involved in the incidents. Endangering the safety at the level crossing is a punishable offence, fetching imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years.