CHENNAI: The Chennai Division of Southern Railway is modernising level crossing gates on key routes to improve operational safety and ease road and rail traffic. Conventional Manual Lifting Barriers are being gradually replaced with Electrically Operated Lifting Barriers (EOLBs) across the division.
Of the 143 manned level crossing gates in the Chennai Division, 70 have been upgraded with EOLBs, providing faster, safer and more reliable gate operations, Southern Railway said in an official communication.
While conventional hand-operated barriers can take two to three minutes to open or close, EOLBs can be operated within 8 to 12 seconds. The quicker operation helps reduce traffic congestion and waiting time for motorists at busy crossings. It also helps prevent delays to train services caused by the time taken to operate the gates manually.
The Chennai Division has also commissioned emergency sliding booms at 133 of its 143 level crossing gates. In case a barrier is damaged by a vehicle or any other emergency, the sliding boom can be manually put in place across the road within a few minutes.