CHENNAI: After facing criticism over continued reliance on verbal communication and manual registers for exchanging private numbers (PNs) to clear signals for passage of trains at non-interlocked level crossing (LC) following the train-school van accident in Cuddalore district that killed three children last Tuesday, Southern Railway has decided to upgrade these gates with a sensor-based system to alert the station masters to ‘digitally’ confirm the gates have been closed.
The move is aimed at enhancing the safety of train operation thereby preventing accidents at LC gates. For the first time, such a concept is to be implemented at non-interlocked LC gates in Indian Railways, said official sources.
According to official documents, the system will be in use until all the 237 (of the total 1,602) non-interlocked LC gates in Southern Railway are upgraded to the fool-proof fully interlocked signalling system.
The new system will include a sensor at the LC gate to detect the closing of gate, which will be connected to a relay device (signal transmission unit) at the gatekeeper’s cabin. The station master’s room will have a digital monitor, linked to the electronic Train Signal Register (TSR).
Once the gatekeeper closes the gate on receiving the instruction and the PN from station master via railway’s telecom line, the sensor will trigger and activate the relay device in the gatekeeper’s cabin.
The device will then automatically generate another PN (which is at present generated manually by the gatekeeper and conveyed to the station master) and display it on the digital monitor at the station master’s room linked to the electronic TSR. This will eliminate the sole reliance on gatekeeper’s oral communication of PN number.
Investigation into the July 8 collision at Semmankuppam in Cuddalore district revealed that the gatekeeper left the gate open but falsely informed the station master (SM) that it was closed.
General Manager (GM) of Southern Railway RN Singh has directed all divisional railway managers (DRMs) and officials from the signalling, telecommunications, and safety departments to complete the installations of these boom-locking detection sensors, integrated with relay device and digital monitors at all 237 non-interlocked gates by September 30.
Additionally, live feed of all the LC gates (from CCTV cameras) will be linked to another monitor in the SM’s room. The GM has also directed for strict action against station masters who exchange private numbers in advance from gatekeepers.
A comprehensive directive and action plan to prevent accidents at non-interlocked LC gates was issued by the railway GM on July 11.
“From July 15 onwards, the private number should only be exchanged through official Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF), a device used by the railways, and no other system should be used,” said the directive.
Other key measures include reducing LC gatekeepers’ duty hours from 12 to eight hours, and improving visibility of railway tracks up to five metres from the road.
Proposed infra at non-interlocked level crossing
An IoT-based sensor detection system at each LC gate
A signal transmission unit (STU, a relay device) in the LC gatekeeper’s cabin.
A new digital monitor, linked to the electronic Train Signal Register (TSR), in the station master’s room
How new system will function
Station Master, through existing telephone line, instructs the gatekeeper to close the gate and exchanges private number (PN)
Sensor detects the closing of the gate and activates the relay device
STU then automatically generates another PN and displays it on the station master’s monitor
Upon this confirmation, the station master will clear the train signal