CHENNAI: The Chennai Railway Division has suspended two gatekeepers —Karthikeyan and Ashish Kumar — for sleeping while on duty at Level Crossing (LC) gates 40 and 45 between Thakkolam and Thirumalpur railway stations on the Chengalpattu–Arakkonam section between 12.30 am and 1 am on Thursday.
They were found to be asleep during an inspection by a team of officials from the divisional engineering department. The inspection was part of the 15-day safety drive initiated at LC gates, following the collision of Villupuram–Mayiladuthurai passenger train and a school van at LC gate in Semmankuppam in Cuddalore district on Tuesday, killing three children. Officials said that the process for removing the two staff will begin after due process.
The railway officials also observed that gatekeepers, who often build close relationships with station masters soon after their postings, tend to exchange the ‘private number’ (PN) – a crucial safety code for non-interlocked LC gates – in advance.
The ‘PN’ is recorded in a register to document communication between the station master and the gatekeeper. This exchange of PNs in advance, a serious violation that compromises safety, is often done to avoid delays and is recorded in the register, which is often nothing more than a notebook.
Moreover, a senior official said, “The phone calls between station masters and gatekeepers must be recorded. However, due to poor maintenance, voice recording systems remain non-functional at several locations. The railway board has directed divisional railway managers to ensure that these systems are repaired at the earliest.”
Sources told TNIE that the 67-km Arakkonam–Kancheepuram–Chengalpattu stretch is a single broad-gauge line under the Chennai division, marked by numerous non-interlocked LC gates. This section has seen a few accidents in the past, involving trains and vehicles at the LC gates near Arugilpadi, Senthamangalam, Thakkolam, and Thirumalpur stations.
A few single-line sections, including Arakkonam–Chengalpattu, where the two suspended staff were working, and Katpadi–Thiruvannamalai–Villupuram have limited train movement during night with no overnight trains passing between 11.30 pm and 4 am. Hence, gatekeepers tend to sleep for three to four hours during this lull, which is a violation, sources said.