Question : Waterlogging in RUBs

(a) whether all the underpasses at all the railway crossings of my Constituency are waterlogged till date and the situation is same though there has been no rain for the past ten days and if so, the facts thereof;

(b) whether certain obstacles always come in the way of the drainage work by the Railways causing heavy traffic jam in the underpass resulting in difficulties to the commuters and if so, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the designing method used for constructing the said underpass has been quite unsuccessful and the officials approving the said design do not seem to have proper knowledge of water drainage system and all the underpasses have been constructed without conducting proper testing and soil investigation by the railway officials; and

(d) if so, the corrective steps proposed to be taken in this regard?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) & (b): In Porbander constituency of Hon’ble Member of Parliament, some of the Road Under Bridges (RUBs) are having problem of water logging where, suitable avenues for disposal of water is not available. Hence, the problem is being tackled by provision of pumping arrangement during the rainy season.
(c) & (d): Initially subways were constructed only at locations where high embankment permitted natural drainage. With experience subways were adopted as a techno-economic solutions for elimination of Level Crossings (LCs) (Primarily UMLC) which provided safe and uninterrupted passage to road users. Prior to 2018, the responsibility of providing, drainage was with state agencies. However, due to complaints, Railways took over this responsibility afterwards. Railways have taken several remedial measures to minimise the problem of water logging. Adequate drainage arrangement has been made integral part of planning of new Road Under Bridge (RUB)/Subways. In existing RUB/subways feasible remedial measures like water flow diversion to nearest bridge & nallahs, provision of covered shed on approach roads, provision of hump at entry to Road under Bridge (RUB), provision of cross drains, sealing of joints etc. have been made as per site suitability. In addition, pumping arrangement has also been made in identified RUBs, to drain out water expeditiously in case of emergency.
*****