Lok Sabha Question No. 174 (STARRED), answered on 2018-03-07
Subject: Anti-Collision Device
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: VISHNU DAYAL RAM

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.174 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.03.2018

## ANTI-COLLISION DEVICE

- † *174.  SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the present status of installing anti-collision device to check train accidents;
- (b) whether the said device has been successfully tested and installed and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) if not, the action plan to improve the said device to make it more effective for checking train accidents;
- (d) whether any machine/instrument is also being used in addition to taking  assistance  of  railway  employees  for  detecting  the  cracks  in railway tracks; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  details  of  the  system  in place in other countries in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COAL

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.174 BY SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 07.03.2018 REGARDING ANTI-COLLISION DEVICE.

(a) to (c) Anti  Collision  Device  (ACD)  developed  by  Konkan  Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), was provided under a pilot project on 1736 Route  Kilometres  on  Northeast  Frontier  Railway  (NFR).    During  trials, complex  operational  and  technical  problems  were  experienced  which could not be fully resolved by KRCL due to design limitations of ACD.  As such, proliferation of ACD has not been undertaken.

Indian Railways have now planned to provide Automatic Train Protection (ATP) conforming to ETCS level-2 standards on the entire Indian Railway Broad Gauge (BG) network.  This will provide technological aid to Loco Pilots for avoiding Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD).

Presently following different Automatic Train Protection (ATP) Systems are existing on Indian Railways:

- (i) Automatic  Train  Protection  (ATP)  System  based  on  proven European Train Control System (ETCS-L1) Technology has been implemented  on  342  RKMs  (200  RKMs  Delhi-Agra  Section,  117 RKMs Chennai Suburban section and 25 RKMs of Metro Railway, Kolkata).
- (ii) An  ATP  called  Auxiliary  Warning  System  (AWS)  is  presently functional  on  364  RKMs  in  the  Mumbai  suburban  section  of Central Railway (240 RKMs) and Western Railway (124 RKMs).
- (iii) An  ATP  system  indigenously  developed  called  Train  Collision Avoidance  System  (TCAS)  is  under  trail  on  250  RKMs  of  South Central Railway as a pilot project.
- (d) Track  circuiting  used  for  signalling  and  interlocking  also  detects rail crack in track circuited area.  However, track circuit is available on

a limited length on the IR network.  Also, a trial of Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection  System  (UBRD)  to  detect  in  service  rail/weld  failures  on Northern Railway and North Central Railway over 25 km of track each is under progress.

(e) Literature  survey  has  been  carried  out  by  RDSO  to  know  the system placed in other countries for detection of cracks in rails. Track  circuiting  used  for  signalling  and  interlocking  also  detects  rail crack  in  track  circuited  area  in  several  countries.    Besides,  following technologies  are  available/under  development/under  trial  world  over, which are potential solution for broken rail detection system: (i) Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System (UBRD). (ii) Rail Fracture & Instruction Detection System (Using distributed Optical Fibre Sensing). (iii) Rail ACCOUSTIC-TR:  Broken Rail Sensing System. (iv) Loco vision analytics and Rail integrity monitoring system. (v) Audio Frequency Continuous Track Circuiting (AFTC). (vi) Other track circuit based patented technologies.

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