Hamidur’s automatic signal warns people before trains arrive
The automatic device warns pedestrians before a train arrives. Photo: Agamir Somoy
An automatic device is warning pedestrians at an unprotected railway crossing in Tangail before a train arrives. The device automatically starts ringing before a train reaches the crossing and says, “Train is coming, train is coming.” Locals said accidents have decreased at a railway crossing in the Hatia area of Kalihati after the installation of the auto signal invented by Md. Hamidur Rahman.
A railway line runs alongside the Dhaka Tangail highway. At busy and risky level crossings, it can often be difficult to notice an approaching train as the sounds of highway traffic and trains blend together. In such a situation, the automatic device has been installed at an unprotected railway crossing in the Hatia area to alert pedestrians in advance.
Inventor Md. Hamidur Rahman said the device automatically starts giving a signal when a train is about two kilometers away. Its sound can be heard from around 500 meters away. As a result, pedestrians and vehicle drivers using the crossing get an opportunity to become alert in advance.
Locals said there are several unprotected railway crossings between Ibrahimabad Railway Station at the Jamuna Bridge and Gharinda Railway Station in Tangail. Accidents frequently occur at these crossings. They claimed that accidents have decreased significantly after the auto signal was installed in the Hatia area.
Local resident Robin Talukder said the device invented by Hamidur Rahman should also be installed at other crossings to reduce accidents at unprotected railway crossings. As pedestrians are informed through the signal before a train arrives, they get an opportunity to remain alert.
Mohera Railway Station Station Master Rakibul Hasan said it is a good initiative to raise public awareness. He said the number of accidents in the Hatia area has also decreased after the automatic device was installed. He added that public awareness could be increased further if such signaling devices are installed alongside line men at both protected and unprotected railway crossings.
Hamidur Rahman is the son of Abdur Rahim Shikdar of Hasra village in Kalihati upazila of Tangail. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Bangla from Government Saadat University in Karatia. He is currently working as a Family Planning Inspector in Kalihati.
Hamidur Rahman said he used to think about how accidents could be prevented after seeing reports of road and railway accidents in newspapers and on television. Although he had no formal education in technology or electrical engineering, he had practical exposure to technology from childhood. Various technologies used at the rice mill and feed mill at his home sparked his interest in developing automated devices.
Driven by that interest, he initially developed a demo of the auto signal. In 2018, he displayed the demo at the Kalihati Upazila Science and Technology Fair and secured first place at the district level.
He then applied to the Ministry of Railways seeking permission to experimentally install the device on railway lines. Following the application, he received an opportunity to install the device on a trial basis in the Hatia area of Kalihati in 2022. Later, he installed it at the Hatia unprotected railway crossing in January 2023.
Hamidur Rahman said there are around 3,500 railway crossings across the country. He wants to install his invented device at railway crossings across the country to reduce accidents at unprotected crossings. He is also seeking government cooperation for this.
