NFR strengthens safety measures at level crossing gates across the zone

Guwahati, Dec 20: Maligaon-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has strengthened safety measures at level crossing (LC) gates across the zone.

“Safety is the cornerstone of train operations, and LC gates play a crucial role in ensuring safe and seamless interaction between rail and road traffic. NFR accords top priority to strengthening safety mechanisms at its LC gates through systematic upgradation of signalling systems, adoption of modern technologies, and periodic maintenance practices", NFR Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said.

"These initiatives are aimed at minimizing human intervention, enhancing reliability, and ensuring the safety of passengers, road users, and railway operations across the zone,” he added.

He said as part of this safety-driven approach, NFR has been progressively upgrading interlocked LC gates, which ensure that the movement of trains and road traffic is governed through safe signalling and interlocking arrangements.

“At present, NFR has 624 interlocked LC gates across the zone, out of which eight were installed during the current 2025–26 fiscal year, reflecting a strong safety footprint in railway operations. In addition, sliding boom arrangements have been provided at 10 LC gates", Sharma said.

"Sliding booms enhance visibility and physical obstruction at LC gates, significantly improving safety for road users during train movements. A total of 582 sliding booms have been incorporated at LC gates in the zone to date,” he added.

He added that NFR has made substantial progress in replacing conventional mechanical lifting barriers (MLBs) with electric lifting barriers (ELBs), which offer higher reliability and quicker response.

“A total of 500 ELBs have been commissioned across NFR, marking a major milestone in LC gate safety upgradation. ELBs have been provided extensively across all divisions, while a new ELB has been commissioned in the Rangiya Division, further expanding the coverage of modern, automated safety systems. A total of 14 ELBs were replaced from MLBs during this fiscal year. These efforts reduce dependence on manual operations and enhance safety at busy and sensitive LC locations,” Sharma said.

To further reinforce safety, system integrity testing (SIT) has been carried out at 220 LC gates across various divisions to ensure the robustness and fail-safe performance of signalling and interlocking systems.

“Additionally, signalling cable meggering has been conducted at 32 LC gates, enabling early detection of electrical faults and ensuring the healthy functioning of critical signalling infrastructure. Through these comprehensive and sustained measures, NFR reaffirms its unwavering commitment to safety, continuously working for safer train operations and enhanced protection for the public at LC gates across the region,” the NFR CPRO said.