Public Accounts Committee Asks Railways To Revisit The Design Of Limited Height Subways

Taking note of the water logging at various low height subways, a Parliamentary committee has asked the Railways to use all available technology and revisit the design phase of all those Limited Height Subways (LHS) which are ‘non-gravitational’.

It has sought a mandatory directive to be issued to all concerned to ensure that the LHS is made ‘gravitational’ at the design stage itself to prevent water accumulation.

The Public Accounts Committee tabled the report on “Construction and Utilisation of Limited Height Subway” in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (20 July).

The PAC headed by Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, was perturbed to note the silence of the Railway Ministry over the spending of nearly Rs 30 lakh in case of LH-51 in Nagpur Division where the Senior Section Engineer (Works) had noticed the problem of water logging after the amount was expended.

Seeking fixing of responsibility in all such cases, the PAC has recommended that the Ministry should use all available technology to make Limited Height Subways (LHS) ‘gravitational’ at the design stage itself to prevent accumulation of water in LHS.

Considering that the joint inspection of selected Level Crossings (LCs) undertaken was a sample case, the committee has recommended that, a thorough survey of all the LCs is required to be undertaken by Indian Railways in all zones at all LCs as a joint exercise of Railways alongwith concerned District Officials of the area in a time bound manner and the result of such an exercise be communicated to the Committee within a
period of six months.

Further, the committee has recommended that the shortcomings in regard to the LCs should be acted upon and redressed by the Railway authorities.

Observing that accidents happened at Level Crossings where Limited Height Subway could not be used, the PAC has noted the report of RPF about the accident that took place on 6 December 2016 at LC No. 286 due to non-barricading of the LC.

The committee had emphasised the importance of human life and deplored the casual manner in which the railway has chosen to respond on the matter of accidents at Level Crossings where Limited Height Subway could not be used.

The PAC has recommended that responsibility, as warranted, be fixed on the officials responsible for getting the barricading done in this case, and the committee intimated of the outcome at the earliest.

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