As per Railways High-Level Committee Report, unmanned level crossing accidents result in 59% deaths. But thankfully, IIT Kanpur students now have an answer to this tricky issue.

IIT Kanpur has come up with an alarm system that will alert people about the arrival of trains on unmanned railway crossings. The technology which is called Radio Frequency and Wireless Based Warning System produces a loud noise and alerts the driver about the approaching crossings.

How does it work?

This involves GPS and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Tag which triggers the warning once the train is 1500 meters away from the crossing. The same thing will happen when the train is just 800 meters away from the track. The flash hooters will stop buzzing when a train crosses 50-metre mark from the crossing.

Special Features:

• This advanced warning system can handle 16 trains if spread out on 16 parallel tracks.
• If the two trains cross each other, then also the warning system will function. The latter train will activate the signal which will close the warning system.
• The system is foolproof – Even if the GPS stops functioning, the RFID will make sure that the warning system doesn’t stop.

If everything goes well and the trials are successful, the device will be put to use. Currently, trials are being conducted between Unnao and Sonik railway stations (crossing number 29C) and Lucknow-Sultanpur section (crossing number 189C).