National infrastructure will be upgraded with new designs for Rail Over Bridges (ROBs) and Rail Under Passes (RUBs) to prevent rainwater from collecting underneath the train underpass. The infrastructure will also ensure smooth flow of traffic.
A ramp will also be made available for pedestrians at the same time as the Rail Over Bridge’s stairs. This will allow motorcyclists to use the overbridge as well. The goal for the upcoming financial year is to generate 1000 ROB-RUB.
The new design of ROB-RUB will provide a lot of convenience to the towns, villages, and populations near the railway track. Out of the total 200 ROBs, 160 have been built till the current financial year January 2022-23, the construction of the remaining will be completed by March, A senior official of the Railway Board said.
However, only 597 underpasses have been built out of an investment of 800 RUB. The aim for the upcoming fiscal year 2023–2024, he said, is to make one thousand ROB–RUB. A new version of ROB-RUB will be produced in the upcoming fiscal year. The train underpass’s terminus will continue to be elevated.
Because of this, rainwater won’t flow and will build up in the underpass. At the same time, ramps will be built for the train over the bridge to make it simple for cyclists and motorcycle riders to cross. The earlier-built overbridge does not include a ramp. This causes the dread of rail accidents to persist when motorcyclists and cyclists attempt to cross the railroad tracks.
Appreciating the plan to replace level crossings with Rail Under Bridges (RUBs), a Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed concern over the accumulation of water under the RUBs. The committee said that the construction of RUB is a good initiative to prevent train accidents, but immediate action should be taken to get rid of the problem of water logging.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, headed by BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, presented its report in the winter session of Parliament. In this, he supported the plan to make an underpass of the railway but expressed his concern over the complaints of water filling under the RUB by public representatives.
According to statistics, the total water level across the country is less than 1368 RUB. Due to this road passengers have to face a lot of trouble. Railways have built a total of 4919 RUB-ROB or subways during 2018-19 to 2021-22. A total of Rs 7768 crore has been spent on this item.