Rlys to install special device to avert train collision

PATNA: The Railway Board has decided to install anti-collision devices (ACDs) to check accidents on tracks following the recent collision between two passenger trains in West Bengal. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting to strengthen safety measures and to avert collisions of trains.

According to a Railway Board official, the ACD has been successfully tested by the railway’s research wing at Lucknow. The device, which was recently tested in the Konkan Railway, is a foolproof system to prevent head-on collision of trains. The ACD is so sensitive that it will give an alert signal to loco pilots of both the trains if they are running on the same tracks and alert loco pilots to avert any possible disaster, he said.

The Board official told TOI that the delay in installing ACD is due to the fact that railways intends to slightly modify the design and structure of the newly created device. Installation of ACD is bound to check collision in block sections and bring the accident rate to zero level, particularly on long routes and accident-prone sections.

The ACD was recently tested successfully on the Katihar-Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Ledo section of North-East Frontier Railway (NFR). Now the railways has decided to install it in a phased manner at all vulnerable places in Southern Railway, South Central and South Western zones to check recurrence of collisions or mishaps on tracks, he said.

According to sources, the new system is so sensitive that it could sense even a small rod on railway tracks from a distance of about two km. Former railway minister Nitish Kumar wanted to execute ACD installations under a pilot project to ensure foolproof safety on tracks. However, the project is yet to see the light of day, sources said.

The railways had initially decided to install the device on about 760-km route of Konkan Railway as the entire route is replete with high risk. This system has also been tested on the Jalandhar-Amritsar route.

The Board official admitted that the Howrah-Delhi route via Patna Junction is vulnerable to mishaps during winter due to severe foggy weather conditions every year.

It may be recalled that the Board had decided to manufacture such foolproof devices when about 200 passengers were killed near Khanna station on November 26, 1998 when the Jammu-Tawi Sealdah Express collided head-on with Amritsar-bound Frontier Golden Temple Mail. Since then, a series of train accidents, particularly head-on collisions, took place across the country killing hundreds of passengers. Had this project been implemented on a priority basis by the railways, many precious lives could have been saved, sources said, adding that the ACD is the only device to check head-on collisions caused by human errors.