TIRUCHY: With the monsoon fast approaching, the Southern Railway is keeping a close watch on all its subways to ensure safety of commuters. Officials said the Railway currently has 651 subways in Tamil Nadu and has provided motors in most of the places to pump out water that might stagnate following heavy rain.
"Out of these 651 subways, we have provided pumps in 442 for the Railway team to use. The remaining 209 subways do not need any pumping arrangement due to natural drainage," a senior Railway official said.
Following the death of a doctor in a waterlogged subway at Thudaiyur in Pudukkottai recently, the Railway started placing warning boards and emergency contact numbers near its subways for commuters to alert if heavy waterlogging is faced. Officials also said the Railway will temporarily close a subway if it faces such waterlogging.
Standard Operating Procedure has been issued in divisions for steps to be taken for pumping out water from any subway. If water stagnation is found to be unsafe for road users, then entry to the subway will be blocked with barricades, Railway sources said.
"A total of 66 subways in Tamil Nadu are vulnerable to heavy waterlogging and we have provided high-capacity pumps and automatic pumps," an official said.
Though the Southern Railway regularly assesses the safety of its subways, sometimes certain subways report heavy waterlogging owing to factors beyond its control. For instance, the subway in Thudaiyur usually records waterlogging up to a height of 60 cm. But, on that fatal day, the subway reported waterlogging of above two feet due to heavy rain and other reasons.
"Our divisions will be conducting regular patrol to assess the safety. If a team finds waterlogging, it will immediately take steps to pump out the water," officials said.