After continuous demands from the residents, the C7 Railway crossing of Jalandhar Urban Estate is all set to reopen again. Former MP Sushil Rinku on Saturday confirmed it to True Scoop and informed that the Railway Ministry has already sent its letter to DRM Ferozepur directing to reopen Urban Estate Railway Faatak. (Crossing).
Sushil Rinku said, "There is a C7 crossing, at the Jalandhar-Nakodar Railway line. Orders to reopen it were passed on Thursday by the Ministry. The order has been sent to DRM Ferozepur directly. DRM Ferozepur is now getting technical clearance. The Chief Engineer is in Baroda and the DRM will ask for the parameters that will be essential to open the railway crossing."
"The C7 Railway crossing is likely to reopen in a week. Roads will also be constructed there because they had totally shut it down by raising up walls. The faataks will be installed again as they had removed it to close the crossing."
Sushil Rinku further informed, "There is a provision to construct an underpass there as well. But, till the underpass is not constructed, till then it will be open for the public."
Urban Estate railway gate will be reopened after reinstalling all necessary equipment and deploying permanent staff. This comes as a huge relief for the daily struggles of local residents, especially school children, office-goers, traders, and emergency services that were forced to take long detours due to the closure.
Residents had argued that with schools, hospitals, and markets located nearby, reopening the gate was urgently required.
While the reopening of Gate C-7 brings relief, the nearby Punjab Avenue Gate (C-8) will remain closed for now. The railways had earlier decided to shut down multiple level crossings on this line due to safety concerns and increasing train traffic.