Hyderabad: The South Central Railway authorities said that it was evident that the driver of the school bus drove into the approaching train leading to the accident. “It is a matter of common sense to stop when a train is approaching. The bus driver underestimated the speed of the moving train. He was in a hurry as and the accident took place just a few minutes before the school was to start,” said the chief public relations officer, South Central Railway, K. Sambasiva Rao.
Meanwhile, Union minister Sadanada Gouda announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the family of the deceased. While the Railway authorities have placed “Stop, Look and Proceed” boards 100 metres short of crossings and speed breakers, very often, they are ignored by drivers.
“Train drivers are supposed to start whistling before passing by an unmanned crossing. However, the most critical part is the judgement of the road users. We are actively implementing an action plan to eliminate all level crossings by 2016-17 and have already eliminated 514 unmanned crossings while 640 are still left. It is our sincere appeal to road users to be extra cautious while crossing unmanned crossings till all have been eliminated,” said the official.
A train travelling at 100 kmph, takes 22 seconds to cross a level crossing, says a report of the SCR. Most people cannot judge the speed of the train and in a rush of over-confidence, attempt to cross in a hurry.
The unmanned crossing at Masaipet was to be converted into a manned one and work was in progress to make the changes.
“Work to convert this crossing into a manned one had already started. We have already constructed a gate lodge and were in the process of erecting a barrier. It is unfortunate that the school bus driver drove recklessly unmindful of the fact that there were school children onboard. It was a rash decision that had tragic consequences” said an official.
DANGER ON THE TRACKS
- There are 640 unmanned railway crossings under South Central Railways; 230 in Telangana and the rest in Andhra Pradesh and Nanded district in Maharashtra
- Hyderabad Railway Division has 64 unmanned level crossings, Secunderabad Division has 67, and Visakhapatnam has 115
- As per railway norms, drivers have to blow their horns at least 500 metres before the crossings
- Five accidents in 2011-12, three in 2012-13, and two in 2013-14 at railway crossings were reported in undivided Andhra Pradesh
