An oil tanker train passes near a railroad crossing by the wholesale seafood market on Jungong Road. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

In a city as modern and streamlined as Shanghai, it is easy to forget that railway lines were once a primary way people and products moved around. There are relics of the old days still in existence in the city - the days when pedestrians, handcars, cars, cycles, horses and rickshaws had to wait at crossings on busy streets as trains chuffed past. Railway enthusiasts in the Shanghai Metro Fans' Club have listed with detailed descriptions the 128 existing railroad crossings surviving in the city.

Most of these crossings are used these days by freight trains transporting raw materials or products although some are used by army trains moving equipment. Some of these crossings are busy seeing more than 30 trains a day pass through, but some might only be used once a month.

In recent years, some of the crossings have witnessed serious accidents. Although there are strict traffic rules and laws governing the crossings, today many pedestrians, bike riders and drivers ignore the potential danger and rush to cross ahead of the oncoming trains.

At the crossing on Yixian Road next to Jiangwan Town Station on metro Line 3, Wang and five crossing guard colleagues work every day. When a train is approaching, they are alerted by a phone call to their small booth beside the crossing. "Then our job is to go outside to observe how far away the train is and the speed it is traveling at. We have to decide when we close the gates to stop traffic and pedestrians using the crossing," Wang told the Global Times.

The line, which is used by army trains, is not as busy as it used to be, Wang said. "Most of the units along this line have moved, so only a few freight trains go past here bringing equipment to an army unit at the end of the line. Once that unit goes, the line and this crossing will go as well."

But this crossing, which is not that often in use these days, attracts railway enthusiasts from all over the city. One fan, surnamed Zhao, noted on the metro fans' online club page, "It's of real historical significance. It's the oldest railway line in Shanghai and in the country. I enjoy walking along the old tracks and taking photographs at weekends - it relaxes me." The line, originally entitled the Songhu Railway (the Shanghai-Wusong Railway), was China's first operating railway line and was built and put into operation in 1876.

Not far from the Yixian Road crossing is another railroad crossing on Songhuajiang Road near Jungong Road in Yangpu district. Here crossing guard Qian and his colleagues do not have the leisure during the day that Wang enjoys. "In the morning rush hour, the line of vehicles waiting for a train to pass can stretch for 2 kilometers. It's not quite as bad in the evening," Qian told the Global Times.

"But even after we have closed the gates and a train is just about here, there are pedestrians and bike riders who just ignore this and go across the tracks. We worry about their safety but they don't seem to care - if we point out the danger to them and try to stop them, they just abuse us. What can we do?"

Ignoring the crossing gates is dangerous. In December 2009, a 64-year-old woman was hit by a train when she crossed the railway tracks ignoring the warnings at a railway crossing in Hongkou district. The woman suffered serious injuries to her head and legs. In June 2012, at another railway crossing in Hongkou district, another older woman was killed when a train struck her as she was crossing the tracks even though the gates had been closed.

According to the city's regulations on railroad crossings, anyone disobeying the instructions of railroad crossing staff can be fined between 5 yuan ($0.82) and 100 yuan. Qian said he had never fined or tried to fine anyone because he hadn't been authorized by his office to do so although he knew about the regulations.

He once reported the behavior of a bus driver to the police. The driver had driven onto the tracks and had stopped there just as a train approached. Qian and others had to run down the line waving red flags to get the train to stop to avoid an accident. "That happened in 2010. This crossing sees a lot of buses, concrete mixers and dump trucks and there are a lot of trains as well. It's hard for us to control at times."

Pedestrians and cyclists wait at the crossing on Songhuajiang Road near Jungong Road as a freight train passes. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

Bike riders help each other sneak under the security gates at the crossing on Songhuajiang Road even though a train is due. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

Pedestrians, motorcyclists and vehicles wait for a train to pass at the crossing on Hejiawan Road in northeastern Shanghai. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

A crossing guard checks the points on railway tracks before a train is due. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

The railway crossing at Yixian Road near the Jiangwan Town Station of metro Line 3 is no longer as busy as it used to be. Photo: Yang Hui/GT