A Murkongselek-bound passenger train hit a car at a railway crossing near Telam railway station last week, killing the two occupants of the vehicle.

According to eyewitnesses, the Ledo-Murkongselek passenger train struck the car while it was crossing the railway track. This was not the first accident or loss of life at railway crossings along the Rangiya-Murkongselek broad-gauge railway line. A similar incident took place at the New Deka railway crossing last year, while a couple of years earlier, three people lost their lives while crossing the track.

For years, citizens have been demanding safer crossings along this important railway route, which is extensively used by passengers from both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

People have repeatedly urged the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to provide manned crossings and construct adequate safety infrastructure. However, many roads intersecting the railway track remain open without proper facilities or monitoring, making them dangerous for commuters who regularly use these crossings.

The NFR must take responsibility and take immediate steps to establish an effective monitoring mechanism and improve safety measures at vulnerable railway crossings before more lives are lost.