KAMPALA: As I watched a video recording of the Kinawataka railway crossing accident posted on social media, I realized that this accident could technically have been avoided.
The recording shows a locomotive train approaching the crossing at a high speed as a motor vehicle also approaches the railway track before the accident occurred. It can be observed that there were no barriers or warning signals to alert the motorist of an approaching train.
Some persons on social media have accused the motorist of not being vigilant but proper warning mechanisms should have been in place to warn the approaching motorist.
A number of such accidents have occurred at other railway crossing junctions in the past. Some of these crossing points have barriers that are manually lowered as a train approaches the crossing point while others do not have them. Undoubtedly, at night it is difficult to maintain staff at each of the junctions to manually put down the barriers and besides some of these barriers have been vandalized. How many lives should we lose before proper action is taken?
To avert such occurrences, the railway corporation should consider installing infrared sensors on either side of the track at a defined distance from the railway crossing to alert oncoming motorists of an approaching train. The alert signals could be in form of red warning lights and an audible sound as the train approaches before the movable barriers are automatically attenuated to descend and close off the road.
The operational status of the barriers at all crossing points in close, open or ajar positions can be remotely monitored at a control centre installed at the railway corporation offices with an option of remote or manual closing in case of failure of the sensing system.
This technology is already mature and has been tested all over the world. Notwithstanding, the technology needs to be properly installed and tested before roll out. It also needs proper monitoring and maintenance to ensure it functions properly at all times.
Investing in sensing technology at railway crossing points in Uganda will not only save life but human effort in manually manning junctions as the train approaches.
By Eng Johnmary Migadde, a registered Electrical Engineer and certified energy auditor.