Title - NFR expedites manning of level crossing gates

GUWAHATI: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has expedited the manning of railway level crossing gates under its jurisdiction to ensure safety of commuters. Apart from the northeast, West Bengal and Bihar also falls under the NFR's jurisdiction. Of the 1,904 level crossings under the NF R in five NE states, Bihar and West Bengal, 938 are still unmanned."Last year, the NFR manned 118 level crossings. We have nearly accomplished the target of converting 75 unmanned level crossings to manned ones in the five northeastern states, Bihar and West Bengal this year," said Nripen Bhattacharyya, public relations officer of the NF Railways. "There are 966 manned level crossings under the NF Railway at present. But 938 railway level crossings are yet to be manned,' said a top railway official.Bhattacharyya said there are 553 manned level crossings at present in Assam while the number of unmanned level crossing in Assam is 485. "The NF Railway presently has 282 manned level crossings and 347 unmanned level crossings in West Bengal and 116 manned and 98 unmanned level crossings in Bihar. Next to Bihar, we have 12 manned level crossings and eight unmanned level crossings," he added.In Manipur and Mizoram, the NF Railway has only one level crossing. While the only level crossing in Manipur has been manned, the railway level crossing in Mizoram remains unmanned. However in Nagaland, both the railway level crossings under the jurisdiction of the NF Railway are manned.

Sources in the NF Railway said that manning of the 167 railway level crossings in the Darjeeling-Himalayan section of the NF Railway is not feasible due to the hilly terrain.