New Delhi, Dec 27: Shifting the strategy, Indian Railways would go for indigenously developed accident prevention system instead of costlier European technology to ensure passengers’ safety in train journey.
Leading from the front in the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, the national transporter has now decided to install Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), an indigenously built technology, while discarding the earlier plan for ETCS Level-2 in the rail network.
TCAS would be installed in the Golden Quadrilateral and Golden Diagonal network as it is a successful model with state-of-the-art technology, Chairman Railway Board VK Yadav said in a presser here.
TCAS is an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system and has been developed by the Railways along with manufacturers from within the country. It is aimed to have capability in preventing train accidents caused due to ‘Signal Passed At Danger’ (SPAD) by train, disobedience of train speed restrictions etc. by automatic application of the brakes should the train driver fail to do so.
The system will also prevent other collision-like scenarios even in case of non-interlocked or non-signalled territory and provide assistance of loco pilots by real-time display of signalling related information inside the cabin.
While the TCAS cost about Rs 1 lakh per km, the European system is many times more costlier.
TCAS, the cost effective solution, has successfully commissioned for a distance of 21.5 km between Umri and Sivungaon stations on the Mudkhed-Secunderabad section of Hyderabad division.
Following successful implementation of the system, the Railways has advised all zonal railways to implement TCAS projects.
Besides, trials of the indigenously designed system are being taken up in association with Railway Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), between Lingampalli-Vikarabad-Wadi and Vikarabad-Bidar sections.
The homegrown train protection system would be implemented in 1,200 km route between Manmad-Nanded-Secunderabad-
Earlier, the RailTel had floated tender for installing the European Train Control System Level 2 (ETCS L2) on 650 km as a Rs 1500 cr pilot project comprising: Jhansi – Bina in North Central Zone, Yerraguntla – Renigunta in South Central Zone, Vizianagaram – Palasa in East Coast Zone, and Nagpur – Budnera in Central Zone.
However, with focus on Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Make-in-India, the tender is likely to be scrapped.
As of now, many locomotives are fitted with TCAS equipment.