Kannur, Kerala: Long queues at railway crossings are a common sight in Kerala, with commuters often spending hours waiting for trains to pass and gates to reopen.

A train travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangaluru via Kottayam (634 km) crosses 324 level crossings across the state. Vehicles at these gates remain stationary for a cumulative total of 54 hours during the train’s journey.

If an average of 100 vehicles passes a gate daily, the waiting time at all gates reaches 5,400 hours. This estimate is based on an average wait of 10 minutes per gate closure. So far, permission has been granted for 137 overbridge projects, leaving over 200 gates still in operation.

The Mangaluru–Thiruvananthapuram route via Kottayam (634 km) has 324 level crossings, while the route via Alappuzha (619 km) has 338 gates.

On the Ernakulam–Shoranur section, around 150 vehicles, including goods trucks, pass through daily, while other sections see about 110 vehicles per day. The busiest gates are classified by the railways as Special, A, or B category, with lower-traffic gates in category C.

Most railway gates are still manually operated by gatekeepers. The railways have begun installing Electric Lifting Barrier (ELB) gates at some locations to improve efficiency and safety.

Number of railway gates:

  • Mangaluru–Kannur: 31
  • Kannur–Kozhikode: 39
  • Kozhikode–Shoranur: 12
  • Shoranur–Ernakulam: 84
  • Ernakulam (Kottayam)–Kayamkulam: 77
  • Ernakulam (Alappuzha)–Kayamkulam: 91
  • Kayamkulam–Kollam: 41
  • Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram: 40
  • Punkunnam–Guruvayur: 14