Railways okays train protection system for south Indian route

NEW DELHI: In a move to prevent accidents, Railways has given its nod to a Rs 28.61 crore contract for installation of a train protection warning system ( TPWS) along the 67-km Basin Bridge-Arrakonam route in south India.

Thales India has been awarded the contract, according to a senior Railway Ministry official.

TPWS, which is based on European Train Control System (ETCS) Level-I, is a proven train protection technology meant to prevent accidents due to a driver's failure to observe a signal or speed restriction. The system has been deployed extensively by Western countries.

If a locomotive driver fails to observe the signal, the automatic brake will be activated and the train would stop, said the official.

Information regarding signal aspects, maximum permissible speed for a particular section, gradient, inter-signal distance and speed restrictions is taken into account while calculating the target speed and target distance displayed on DMI (driver-machine interface) in TPWS-equipped locomotives.

"A total of 169 signals in the Basin Bridge-Arrakonam section will be protected with the TPWS," said the official, who added that "Thales will deploy its ETCS Level-I solution and will be responsible for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of track-side equipment."

The commissioning of the TPWS is expected to be achieved by 2015.

TPWS has been implemented as a pilot project on the 50-km Chennai-Gummidipundi suburban section.

The advanced system has also been commissioned on the 25-km Dum Dum-Kavi Subhash section of Kolkata Metro.

Also, TPWS trials are in progress with 35 locomotives on selected trains on the 200-km long Nizamuddin-Agra section.