CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): Chennai Division of Southern Railway has been continuously trying to boost operational safety and facilitate rail and road traffic and it has achieved a major milestone in modernizing the Level Crossing gates across the key routes. Traditional manual lifting barriers are being gradually replaced with modern Electrically Operated Lifting barriers (EOLB) at an estimated cost of Rs 30 lakhs per unit.
Indian Railways have upgraded 70 out of 43 level crossing (LC) gates with Electrically Operated Lifting Barrier (EOLB). The new system will make gate operations faster, safer and more reliable. The upgrades will improve waiting time for road users at crossings and prevent them from passing through while staff operates the gate manually.
EOLBs commissioned in different sections of Chennai division
Considerable progress has taken place across all major sections of the division. The Chennai Beach-Chengalpattu section has successfully upgraded all 13 of its LC gates with EOLBs.
Additionally, EOLBs have been commissioned in at 19 out of 31 LC gates in the Chengalpattu-Arakkonam section, 11 out of 29 gates in the Gudur section, 8 out of 10 gates in the Chennai Central Arakkonam section, 7 out of 9 gates in the Arakkona-Katpadi section, 6 out of 14 gates in the Arakkona-Renigunta section, 3 out of 8 gates in the Katpadi-Jolarpettai section, 3 out of 29 gates in the Chengalpattu-Villipuram section. The remaining LC gates will soon be featured with EOLBs.
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To further strengthen safety measures, the Chennai Division has put into operation Sliding Booms at 133 out of 143 LC gates. The emergency Sliding Booms can be operated manually in a few minutes in the event of an emergency or any kind of physical damage to the MLB or EOLB barrier caused by road vehicles. This ensures that the gate interlocking system stays intact, allowing trains to pass securely without lowering speed or disrupting service schedule and routine while the repairing of the system is taking place.
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