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NFR gears up for unforeseen incidents during monsoon

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 29 - The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has taken steps to deal with any kind of untoward incident during the monsoon season. It has already deployed personnel and materials for the safety of over 6,400 km of railway tracks spread over parts of the NE states, West Bengal and Bihar which fall under the zone�s jurisdiction.

�The monsoon season is quite challenging for NFR. Our zone serves a difficult terrain close to foothills of the Lower Himalayan ranges, carved by turbulent streams and fed by heaviest rainfall reaching up to about 7,000 mm in a year. Due to this heavy rainfall during monsoon, landslides, rain cuts in embankments and overflowing of bridges occur frequently. For NFR, safety of passengers is the first priority. For this, we have formulated a detailed strategy for the safety of railway tracks,� said Subhanan Chanda, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of NFR.

He said that as part of the preparations, before the onset of the monsoon season, work has been done for collection of materials at sensitive places, besides cleaning of drainage systems and of waterways of bridges, and marking danger levels at bridges.

NFR has also deployed patrolling teams to continuously keep watch over more than 6,400 km of tracks under its jurisdiction for any defect that may arise due to heavy rainfall.

�Around 815 patrol teams, each consisting of two patrolmen, have been deployed to keep the railway tracks safe. The teams patrol the tracks on the basis of rainfall alert issued by the Meteorological Department. These patrolmen are equipped with the latest and state-of-the-art equipment like GPS tracker, luminous jacket, raincoat, waterproof trousers, safety helmet, safety shoes, powerful search and flashlights, among other things. The teams are on full-track patrol round the clock. Mobile phones have been made available to each patrol team to provide information to the nearest station about any situation that may affect normal movement of trains,� said Chanda.

In addition to patrols, stationary watchmen have also been appointed in sensitive areas, including sites prone to landslides and bridges where water is flowing near danger levels.

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