The Indian Railways has launched a 15-day safety inspection drive focused on level crossing (LC) gates in block sections, following a comprehensive review by the Railway Minister on Wednesday. During the review, conducted over the phone with senior officials, the Minister flagged several safety concerns and called for immediate corrective action at the LC gates across the network.

Eleven key steps have been drawn up as part of the renewed push to improve safety. Among the top priorities is the installation of CCTV cameras with backup power at all level crossings. These will be powered by a combination of commercial supply, solar panels, batteries, and UPS systems to ensure uninterrupted monitoring.

Officials are also revisiting policy decisions around ‘close to road traffic’ and ‘open to road traffic’ gates, while pushing for faster interlocking of gates, particularly those with high traffic volumes. The threshold for such upgrades has been lowered, with interlocking now required at gates with over 10,000 Train Vehicle Units (TVUs), down from the earlier 20,000.