New level-crossing system with local know-how

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

COLOMBO: The Government has allocated Rs. 200 million to develop Level Crossing Protection Systems with barrier gates suitable for both single and double track level crossings in the country considering the increasing number of fatal accidents at railway level crossings.

At present limited number of protected railway level crossings are fitted with imported systems costing a huge amount.

Since 2003, large scale implementation of these systems were halted due to financial constraints experienced by the Sri Lanka Railways but the present Government under the mandate of promoting local technology development has taken an initiative to re-commence this nationally important task.

Several meetings were held between the authorities of the Sri Lanka Railways and the University of Moratuwa to seek the possibility of deploying those systems with barrier gates as additional features.

The Engineering Design Centre (EDC) of the University of Moratuwa is to initially develop two such systems suitable for protecting single track and double track level crossings under this programme.

Dean of the Moratuwa University Professor Ananda Jayawardena said that these systems will be based on the proven technology used in the "Bell and Light Protection System" developed by EDC in 2001. The University of Moratuwa has already taken steps to commence development work.

The EDC of the University of Moratuwa developed a Bell and Light Protection System to overcome this problem in 2001. This system has an electrically operated audible bell alarm and blinking red lamps to indicate an approaching train along a rail track.

No manpower is required to operate this system. Several such systems have been deployed by the EDC and are presently operating satisfactorily without any maintenance cost for several years at Wanawasala Boys town and Blue Waters Hotel Level Crossing at Wadduwa.

This system was developed entirely by Sri Lankan expertise and found to be durable and reliable system for operation in Sri Lanka at a fraction of the cost of a similar imported system according to Professor Jayawardena.