At least 219 people have been killed in 116 accidents at railway crossings across the country between the start of 2020 and July 28, 2022, says a report.
The report signed by Saidur Rahman, executive director of Road Safety Foundation, revealed the information on Saturday.
According to the report, 69 people were killed in 38 accidents in 2020 while 76 died in 43 accidents in 2021.
Till July 28, 2022, 74 people lost their lives in 35 accidents.
The organization identified negligence of duty at rail crossings and shortage of manpower as one of the major causes of the accidents at railway crossings.
Another cause of the accident is lack of awareness and impatience among vehicle drivers and passengers.
The organization also put forward some recommendations to avoid accidents at railway crossings in future.
They asked the authorities to appoint more gatemen to address the shortage of manpower issue and install suitable gate bars with appropriate technology at all rail crossings across the country.
The importance of conducting media campaigns to create awareness among passengers and drivers was also stressed.
There are 2,856 railway crossings across the country. Of them, 1,495 railway crossings are authorized while 1,361 are unauthorized.
There are no gatemen at 961 railway crossings. As many as 82% of railway crossings in the country are unsafe.
