Automatic warning system could
have prevented Gaisal tragedy
Handicapped by an acute shortage of funds, the Indian Railways has not been able to speed up the introduction of the automatic warning system (AWS) to avert accidents like the one at Gaisal in
West Bengal two days ago.
Experts on railway signalling and traffic management at Hyderabad said a Rs 500 million pilot project was sanctioned for the introduction of radio-band AWS between New Delhi and Mathura only this year.
According to preliminary findings, the Brahmaputra Mail and the Awadh-Assam Express collided because a number of people failed in their duties. One train ran on the wrong track and apparently no one noticed it for 17 km.
The AWS reduces chances of accidents even when such criminal human errors occur. The AWS comprises sensors placed on locomotives and along the tracks. The ground sensors relay
through radio band the status of the signal to locomotives, which automatically brake to a halt in case of a signal failure.
Sources said the railways would need an allocation of Rs 2.5 billion over the next ten years to complete installation of AWS on a route length of 2.5 lakh km to cover the entire country.
Presently, all the Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) running on the Bombay suburban section have this facility. The AWS in these EMUs gives a beep for a green signal and hoots when the track is not clear. Even if the driver fails to respond to the hooter, the system stops the train by
landing the brakes.
The government also recently sanctioned nearly Rs 500 crore for installing 'track circuit' system after the Purushottam and Kalindi Express trains collided at Ferozabad station in 1994.
The track circuit system prevents the signals in the station areas to drop and allow two trains to run on the same line.
UNI
Tell us what you think of this report
|
