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In a major boost to rail safety, Indian Railways has achieved a significant milestone with the continuous upgrading of its signalling system, further enhancing the safety of passengers and operations across its vast network.
According to Indian Railways, electronic interlocking was commissioned at Shakurbasti of New Delhi. The upgrade replaces one of India's oldest mechanical interlocked yards, featuring 493 routes, with a cutting-edge VDU-based system, significantly enhancing operational safety. As an outcome of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents from 135 in 2014-15 to 40 in 2023-24, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw told Lok Sabha in a written reply in November. He said the consequential train accidents during the period 2004-14 was 1711 (average 171 per annum), which has declined to 678 during the period 2014-24 (average 68 per annum). Another important index showing improved safety in train operations is Accidents per Million Train Kilometer (APMTKM) which has reduced from 0.11 in 2014-15 to 0.03 in 2023-24, indicating an improvement of approx 73 per cent during the said period. "Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation of points and signals have been provided at 6,608 stations up to 31.10.2024 to eliminate accidents due to human failure. The interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates has been provided at 11,053 level Crossing Gates up to October 31 this year for enhancing safety at LC gates," the minister told Lok Sabha earlier. Complete Track Circuiting of stations to enhance safety by verification of track occupancy by electrical means has been provided at 6,619 stations up to October 31 this year, he said earlier. Kavach is a highly technology-intensive system, which requires safety certification of the highest order and has already been deployed on 1548 RKm on South Central Railway and North Central Railway. (ANI)
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