NEW DELHI : The Railway Ministry has decided to equip the train drivers with a ‘third eye’ to avert train collisions, derailments and accidents on the unmanned railway crossing.
The radar-based device called “TRI-NETRA” with the infrared optical for terrain imaging will be able to alert the driver on any physical obstruction on the railway tracks up to 2-3 kilometre, giving him ample time to stop the train. The device will easily sense any uprooted tree or a boulder lying on the tracks or any vehicle broken down while crossing.
A ministry source said as a part of the motto of an ultimate “zero-accident rate,” the Railways have decided to import 100 such devices to begin with for installing on the train locomotives and procure more on the success of the system.
He said this device would be very useful during nights and in the foggy conditions when the driver has to constantly look outside to assess the situation. Most of the train accidents happen during the nights or the wee hours of the mornings and due to fog when the drivers cannot really identify the physical hindrance awaiting on the tracks.
Six countries, including Japan, France and Switzerland, have offered to install these devices for the Indian Railways to examine how efficient they are. The purchase of this device is a must keeping in the light of the horrible train accidents that have occurred in the past.
The ministry also plans to implement homegrown accident mitigation device called Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) developed by the engineers of the Konkan Railway and re-tested by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation which was successfully tested on a 250km track on Secundarabad track.
An official said the railway ministry is already reducing unmanned level crossings, upgrading of signals and setting up train collision avoidance systems, track renewals, etc. to make the railway lines devoid of accidents.
