RailTel is implementing modern signalling projects worth Rs 224 Cr on Northern Railway Zone

New Delhi: RailTel, a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, is implementing modern signalling projects worth Rs 224 crore on the Northern Railway Zone of replacing obsolete mechanical signalling with state-of-the-art electronic interlocking system. It covers 26 stations- 3 on the Delhi division, 9 on Ambala Division and 14 on the Firozpur division. This modern technology shall enhance the safety and efficiency of train operation.

The Division wise details of stations are following:

A. 3 stations in Delhi Division are Pehowa Road-PHWR, Kaithal- KLE and Kalayat-KIY all in Kaithal District in Haryana on Kurukshetra-Narwana Section. This section at one end is joining main-line section of Delhi-Rohtak-Jind-Bathinda at Narwana and at other ends it is joining main-line section of Delhi-Panipat-Ambala Cantt-Chandigarh at Kurukshetra.

B.  Stations of Ambala Division of Northern Railway:

(i) Out of this, 7 stations are on Bathinda–Sri Ganganagar Section. This section is part of Sri Ganganagar-Bhatinda-Rajpura section which gets connected to the Moradabad-Saharanpur-Ambala-Ludhiana main-line section at Rajpura. These 7 stations are:- Buluana- BHX (District: Bhatinda), Giddarbaha-GDB (District: Sri Muktsar Sahib), Malout- MOT (District: Sri Muktsar Sahib), Pakki- PKK (District: Sri Muktsar Sahib ), Panjkosi- PJK (District: Fazilka) in Punjab State and Hindumalkote- HMK (District: Shri Ganganagar ) & Fatuhi- FTH  (District: Shri Ganganagar) stations in Rajasthan State.

(ii) The remaining 2 stations of Ambala Division are on Sirhind-Amb Andaura section which also joins with Moradabad-Saharanpur-Ambala-Ludhiana main line section at Sirhind. These two stations are-Anandpur Sahib-ANSB & Nangal Dam-NLDM both in Rupnagar district of Punjab.

C. 14 Railway stations of Firozpur Division (all in Punjab):

(i) 10 Railway stations of Firozpur Division are on Amritsar- Pathankot section. Their names are-Verka-VKA, Kathunagal- KNG, Jaintipura-JNT all 3 in Amritsar District; Batala-BAT, Chinna-CHN, Dhariwal-DHW, Gurdaspur-GSP Dina Nagar-DNN all 5 in Gurdaspur District; Jakolari-JK, Sarna-SRM both in Pathankot District. This section provides a diversion or substitute route to Jalandhar–Jammu line. This line has strategic significance also.

(ii) The other remaining 4 stations of Firozpur Division are on Lohian Khas-Phillaur section. Their names are-Malsian Shahkot-MQS, Nakodar-NRO, Nurmahal-NRM, Bilga-BZG all 4 in Jalandhar district. This section gets connected to the Moradabad-Saharanpur-Ambala-Ludhiana-Jalandhar main-line section at Phillaur.

The work has already been commissioned at 6 stations – 3 stations of Delhi Division (Pehowa Road, Kaithal & Kalayat) and 3 stations of Ambala Division (Bulluana, Malout & Pakki) and is in advance stage of completion at balance 6 stations of Ambala Division. The first stage of implementation on 14 stations of the Firozpur Division has also commenced with the initiation of planning, design and procurement processes for the equipment.

So far, Rs 65 Crore of revenue has already been booked and Rs. 105 Crore revenue will be booked in FY 22-23 and remaining in FY 23-24.

Under this modernisation project, the existing age-old Mechanical Signalling System is being replaced by the new Modern Electronic Interlocking Signaling System. This change of system will enhance the safety and operational efficiency. In addition, new system will also facilitate trains to run at higher speed of 110 Kmph from a lower speed of 50 kmph at present.

The Electronic Interlocking Signalling System will enable all operations by Station Master for movement of trains like signal clearance and setting routes by the click of a mouse on the computer (VDU) provided in his office and provides a live view of train running in the station yard. It enables automatic verification of last vehicle clearance and facilitates monitoring and fault diagnostics on a computer.

The salient features of the project are:

➢ The clearance of block section i.e. detection of complete arrival of train is being provided with the latest system of Digital Axle Counters. Train operations thus become much easier, faster & safer due to automation of operations.

➢ The operation of level crossing gates in the yard has been changed from mechanical to electrical type which further increases the efficiency of closing and opening LC Gates.

➢ The train handling capacity of the yard has been increased by allowing simultaneous reception & dispatch of the trains wherever feasible. The length of berthing lines i.e Clear Standing Room (CSR) has been increased to allow berthing of full-length Goods trains which increases holding capacity of berthing tracks.

➢ The power supply system has been updated to state of the art Integrated Power Supply which is a centralized power distribution system for entire yard and requires very less space compared to conventional system. This system can be monitored by Station Master by means of Indication Panel provided in SM Office.

➢ Data loggers have been provided to keep record of signaling system operation data. This data helps in analyzing all kind of system failures and it is also possible to analyze events which have taken place during any unusual incident or accident in the yard.

➢ All systems for train operation have been installed in new building constructed for this purpose. Fire alarm system has been provided in this building for protection of vital system.

➢ The stations have been provided with full complement of signaling gears like Electronic Interlocking, Universal Failsafe Block Instruments, High Availability Single Section Digital Axle Counters, LED signals, track circuit, Electric point machines, batteries, maintenance-free earthings, surge protection devices, Fuse alarm and changeover system, earth leakage detection system etc as per latest instruction from RDSO & Railway.

➢ Electronic Interlocking System has more reliability and safety due to less relays and accessories.

➢ Self-diagnostic features. Any failure in the system is located and identified. Faulty module can be immediately replaced by spare module hence the down time of installation is reduced.

Talking about it, RailTel's Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Puneet Chawla said, "RailTel is a trusted telecom and signaling arm of Indian Railways. For enhancing safety and efficiency of train operations, it is necessary to replace age old obsolete mechanical signalling system by the state-of-the-art modern electronic interlocking system. This system replacement exercise is a continuous process on Indian Railways and RailTel is playing an important role in this system replacement exercise. RailTel also intends to play a significant role in modernizing Train Control System of Indian Railways through execution of KAVACH (Train Collision Avoidance System-TCAS) which is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System. This is proposed to be implemented over Long Term Evolution (LTE) based High Speed Mobile Communication Corridor for Indian Railways."

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