Disaster waiting to happen at Manapparai level crossing

  • | Friday | 22nd June, 2018

They too have to cross the level crossing to reach the shrine,” said K Mohammed Hussain, CPI town secretary.“Trains like the Mumbai LTT (Kurla) - Madurai Express and Tambaram - Trichy Antyodaya Express are detained at the Manapparai station for crossing. As these trains halt for more than 30 minutes, sometimes even 40 minutes, farmers find it very difficult to cross the track. Trichy: Detention of trains for a longer duration at the Manapparai railway station is posing a huge risk for locals waiting to cross over from one side to the other as some of the trains block the manned level crossing situated close to the platforms. When these trains are detained, the coaches extend beyond the platform as the platform is short, blocking the level crossing,” he stated.“The Kurla train halts at around 7am while Antyodaya Express would arrive at around 9am. Hundreds of devotees also converge at the famous Veerapur temple everyday.

Trichy: Detention of trains for a longer duration at the Manapparai railway station is posing a huge risk for locals waiting to cross over from one side to the other as some of the trains block the manned level crossing situated close to the platforms. Though there are two rail overbridges nearby, locals risk their lives by going beneath the train.With many trains given unscheduled halts for more than 30 minutes sometimes, many demands have been made to bring down the halt time so that the public can cross with ease and not wasting much time..However, railway authorities said that there are two rail overbridges - one 400m away from the station on the Trichy side and the other 200m away on the Madurai side - and urged people to use them and avoid such risky trespassing.Though a number of trains – both express and passenger - cross the Manapparai station everyday, only a few halt at the station.Detention of a few weekly trains at the station for crossing purposes has been creating problem to the general public, as these trains usually have more coaches and extend up to the manned level crossing and block it on the Trichy side of the station, allege some.“A number of farmers coming from surrounding villages have to reach the daily vegetable market crossing the track via this manned level crossing. Hundreds of devotees also converge at the famous Veerapur temple everyday. They too have to cross the level crossing to reach the shrine,” said K Mohammed Hussain, CPI town secretary.“Trains like the Mumbai LTT (Kurla) - Madurai Express and Tambaram - Trichy Antyodaya Express are detained at the Manapparai station for crossing. When these trains are detained, the coaches extend beyond the platform as the platform is short, blocking the level crossing,” he stated.“The Kurla train halts at around 7am while Antyodaya Express would arrive at around 9am. As these trains halt for more than 30 minutes, sometimes even 40 minutes, farmers find it very difficult to cross the track. Students are not able to reach the school on time in the morning,” said P Balan, a resident of Manapparai.This is the same case at Needamangalam station in Tiruvarur district too, said D Manoharan, deputy general secretary of Dakshin Railway Employees Union (DREU).“Whenever, the Chemmozhi Express is brought to a halt for crossing, the coaches would block the main manned level crossing at Needamangalam, forcing vehicular traffic to a halt till the express leaves,” he said.The only way to avert this problem is to bring down the detention time and adjust with other stations, Manoharan added.

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