Railways to replace age-old Mechanical Signaling System with Electronic Signaling System to promote safety and efficiency
The Current update shall be done with a budget of Rs 224 Crores starting from Northern Railway Zone.
To enhance the safety and efficiency of train operations Indian Railways’ PSU RailTel is set to implement modern signalling projects by bringing in the latest state-of-the-art Electronic Signalling System. The current project will cater to 26 stations from three different divisions of Delhi, Ambala and Firozpur.
The project has already picked up pace with the initiation of planning, design and procurement processes for the equipment. So far, Rs 65 crore revenue has already been booked and Rs 105 crore revenue will be booked in FY 22-23 and remaining in FY 23-24, told officials from RailTel.
The new system will allow all operations by the station master for the movement of trains such as signal clearance and setting routes by the click of a mouse on the computer (VDU) provided in his office along with providing a live view of trains running in the station yard. The system will also help in running the trains at a higher speed. In addition, it enables automatic verification of last vehicle clearance and facilitates monitoring and fault diagnostics on a computer.
RailTel was recently in news for coming up with KAVACH, an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System which was tested successfully in the presence of railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The Indian Railways are on a path to achieving complete modernization, a couple of days back Konkan Railway Corporation also achieved a remarkable feat by completing electrification on its entire 741-kilometer route between Roha in Maharashtra and Thokur in Karnataka. This electrification will help in saving Rs 150 crores on fuel while also ensuring pollution-free operations.
This is in line with the ‘Mission 100% Electrification – Moving towards net Zero Carbon Emission’ plan as the railways have planned to reach 100% electrification in Broad Gauge (BG) routes by December, 2023. The Indian Railways also aims to become the largest Green Railways in the world and be a ‘net zero carbon emitter’ before 2030.
