A total of 5,400 unmanned level crossings were eliminated- 2310 by manning and 3090 by closure/merger/construction of road overbridge (ROB) or road underbridge (RUB) during the last five years, Kharge said while presenting his interim rail budget 2014-15.
He said manning or elimination of all unmanned level crossings and provision of ROB/RUBs in lieu of manned level crossings with heavy traffic density in a time-bound manner is a commitment of railways.
There are a total 18,672 level crossings in the country, out of which 12,582 are unmanned.
Kharge's maiden rail budget also mentioned the planning for induction of indigenously-developed train collision avoidance system (TCAS).
Trials of TCAS has been successfully completed on the 200km long Vikrabad-Bidar section.
A safety device designed to prevent train accidents, TCAS is based on a combination of railway signalling data with radio communications, global positioning system, radio frequency identification devices, software and logic.