The Hindu : National : Anti-collision device will be ready by 2013

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Saturday, Aug 11, 2007
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Anti-collision device will be ready by 2013

Sujay Mehdudia

The on-board protection device is indigenously developed

Pilot project successfully commissioned
Integrated with signalling systems,
interlocking devices

NEW DELHI: The Anti-Collision Device (ACD), an on-board train protection device indigenously developed by Konkan Railway, will be ready for installation by 2013.

Official sources said the ACD would cover the entire network so as to reduce the chances of collision, a matter of great concern to the Railways.

The pilot project implementation of ACD was successfully commissioned on the North-East Frontier Railway this year. Survey for expanding the system to another 10,000 km falling on the critical and busy sections of the network is almost complete.

The installation of this device will go a long way in preventing collision accidents. The application of this device has been refined to not only prevent mid-section collisions but also to pre-empt their occurrence in station yards.

The newly engineered solution is integrated with the signalling systems and interlocking to react appropriately in case collision-like conditions are perceived at the time of reception and dispatch of trains from a station. The design of crash-worthy coaches and tight lock couplers with anti-climbing features has been finalised and all future coaches are being made as per the new design. Despite the phenomenal increase in traffic, the number of consequential train accidents has come down from 464 in 2000-01 to 234 in 2005-06, a reduction of almost 50 per cent.

In 2006-07, the number of accidents came down to 195, the lowest-ever since the 1960s. Safety is the prime concern and all possible measures are being taken to ensure the safety of passengers.

More ATMs

In another move, the Railways has allowed nine more banks to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at railway stations in all Zonal Railways. These banks will set up ATMs at 440 locations, taking the total to 1,833. Out of these, more than 1,200 locations will have e-ticketing facilities through Internet kiosks installed alongside the ATMs.

The nine banks are: Bank of Rajasthan, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, ICICI Bank, UTI Bank, UCO Bank, HDFC Bank, Syndicate Bank and J&K Bank.

Out of 440 locations, ATMs will be set up at 75 stations in Western Railway, at 65 stations in Central Railway, 63 in Northern Railway, 54 in Southern Railway, 53 in North-Western Railway, 24 in West-Central Railway, 21 in South-Central Railway, 20 in Eastern Railway, 15 in South-Eastern Railway, 12 in South-Western Railway, 11 in North-Central Railway, 6 each in East-Central and South-East Central Railway and 5 each in East-Coast, North-Eastern and Northeast-Frontier Railways.

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