According to ministry data, there have been at least 2,650 cattle deaths on railway tracks since April 1st of this year, prompting the Railways to consider the construction of fences in the worst-affected areas. The majority of these incidents have occurred in Uttar Pradesh under the North Central Railway based in Prayagraj, which consistently reports the highest number of cattle deaths each year.
Railways Minister announced on Wednesday that approximately 1,000 km of boundary walls will be built along railway tracks over the next five to six months.
Cattle hits on tracks have affected 200 trains in the first nine days of October, and nearly 4,000 trains have been impacted so far this year.
Vaishnaw said, “We are taking the issue of building boundary walls seriously.”
He also mentioned that the Railways are considering two different designs for the boundary walls, with plans to build 1,000 km of such walls over the next five to six months to determine their effectiveness.
It has been noted that traditional boundary walls will not solve the problem of cattle run-over and will only affect villagers in the area. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Railways recorded 26,000 cattle run-over cases nationwide.
According to the Commissioner of Railway Safety, fencing of tracks is mandatory if a train exceeds the speed of 130 km per hour.
The -Howrah and Delhi- corridors are currently undergoing a significant speed upgrade to accommodate speeds of up to 160 km per hour, making the fencing of tracks a crucial part of the plan.
Sources have revealed that several innovative designs are being considered this time, as past experiences with fencing have not been positive for the Railways. Iron fences tend to be vandalized and sometimes stolen.
Villagers are not in favor of fencing, as they see it as a barrier to free movement. Additionally, cattle can get trapped if they wander onto fenced tracks.
Previous attempts at fencing, such as using concrete sleeper bars from the tracks, have not been successful for Indian Railways.
The areas identified for the construction of boundary walls include sections in North Central Railways and Northern Railways — in Jhansi Division (Virangana Lakshmibai-Gwalior section); Prayagraj Division (Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Prayagraj section), Moradabad Division (Alam Nagar to Shahjehanpur), and in Division (Alam Nagar to Lucknow).
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