LEVEL CROSSING

Level Crossing

It means-

A level crossing usually known as a rail road crossing, is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road or path at the same level,  as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using a bridge or tunnel.

Types Of level Crossing

• Barrier Crossing
• Gated crossing operated by railway staff
• User worked crossing
• Open crossing
• Footpath crossing

1) Barrier Crossing

            Barriers cover either whole road or half the road, there are also warning lights and an alarm. 

2)Gated Crossing;

           Gates are on both sides of the railway, staff close them as trains goes through.

3)User Worked Crossing:

          Gates or barriers are operated by the person using the crossing. These crossings sometimes               have telephones and lights.

4)Open Crossing:

          There are no barriers or gates, however there are road traffic signs at these  crossings. 

5)Footpath crossing:

           Stiles are self-closing gates are on both sides of the railway. Some crossings have  stop lights. 

Safety Measure-

In terms of warning systems, level crossings are either passive crossings which have warnings such as signs, or active crossings which have automatic warning devices such as boom gates, flashing lights and warning tones. Fewer collisions take place at level crossings with active warning systems.

 Today radar sensor systems for automatic level crossing free detection are a cheap way to improve safety of level crossings.

Crossing-

A crossing is a special device provided which  allows the crossing of rails with each other, at an

 angle, without causing any obstruction to the  passage of wheel flanges.

Types;-

1)Vee-crossing or Acute angle crossing;         

              The angle  between the rails of two tracks, i.e, the main track and the branch track is an 

acute angle. This type of crossing is very common in the Indian Railways and consists of the various 

component parts.

2)  Obtuse angle crossing or Diamond crossing;

                     In this type of crossing two acute  angles and two obtuse angles are formed when two

 rail tracks, i.e, one main track and another branch  track crosses each other.

3) Square crossing;

                   A crossing in which the intersecting railway tracks are perpendicular to each other.