Railways to focus on Train Collision Avoidance system

On 26^th July 2014, Indian Railways said that there is need for installation of the indigenised Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which is a cost effective solution for preventing accident in the country.

This system will help prevent train accidents while enabling the state-run transporter to run more trains on the same track. 

TCAS is an indigenised system developed by Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), which is the railways' research arm.

This system is operational between Hyderabad and Wadi in south India on a trial basis.

Indian Railway is hoping the indigenised system is likely to be a "game changer" in preventing crash accidents in the country and could become Indian Train Control System in future.

Eight Indian companies have been shortlisted for the development of the system, out of which three are involved in the trial phase.

How TCAS works?

The TCAS technology, based on a combination of GPS and Radio Frequency enabled technology, applies brakes without the intervention of the loco (train) pilots once it detects another locomotive on the move or stationary on the same track and avoids collision.

TCAS comprises three main sub-systems:

Loco TCAS-which is the onboard equipment.

Station TCAS- which is the deployed at stations and level crossings.

RFID tags - which is the on the tracks.

The system uses radios, which operate in UHF frequency for communication between the onboard and stationary equipment.

The communication range is designed to maintain safe braking distance in cases where there is a risk of an imminent collision, while each TCAS unit must be able to communicate with all other TCAS units within a 3000m (3km) radius

When the locomotive is within transmission range of the Station TCAS unit, the station equipment acts as the master and provides the movement authority to the locomotives.

On longer block sections, when lineside equipment is not within communication range, onboard equipment exchanges data directly between trains to maintain the collision 

prevention function.

What are the advantages of TCAS?

• TCAS is a cost-effective solution for railways- TCAS cost about Rs 1 lakh per km and  the other available system Train Protection Warning System (TPWS)  which is a European technology, cost about Rs 80 lakh per km.
• If the loco pilot jumped the red signal then it will apply emergency brake and stop the train.
• If the train derails then trains coming from either side will be automatically stopped.
• This system will help to meet the urgent need for introduction of effective preventive measures to mitigate the risk of jumping signal and over speeding by loco pilots of trains leading to accidents.
• TCAS is a comprehensive train protection system which is designed to prevent head-on, rear-end and side-on collisions.
• The technology will also help in safe running of trains during invisibility of signals due to heavy rain or fog.
• It will help to avoid collisions due to human errors in signalling.
• It will alert about fire on trains and warns about damage to the tracks during natural calamities or sabotage (For ex- In case naxalist's derailing railway tracks). 

The technical optimisation in the TCAS will be complete in a few months from now and a decision will be taken soon to extend the system on other routes.

This system will help in safety enhancement of train operation, as Indian rail operation is going for semi-high speed and high speed train.

Railways are also exploring various innovative measures to procure electricity at a reduced tariff.

In order to contain the expenditure on fuel which has been estimated to be about Rs 35,176 crore during the current finance year, railways is taking various initiatives like progressive railway electrification on important and busy routes.

Railways also stand to focus on harnessing green energy both solar and wind on a very large sacle including on available roof-top spaces of stations and buildings.