It’s approaching fog time again, threatening severe disruption of train services as is usual every winter, causing much inconvenience to passengers.However, the railways’ fog-preparedness still seems to inadequate as the much talked-about LED fog lights and other technology in locomotives of north-bound trains — aimed at increasing visibility for train drivers in adverse weather conditions — is still in the trial stage.

All north-bound trains get delayed for hours due to poor visibility during foggy weather, causing a ripple effect on the congested network. The dense fog forces drivers to slow down train speeds up to 15 kmph as a safety requirement — resulting in delays ranging between four and 22 hours.

Rattled by the massive disruption in services year after year in winter, the railways has initiated several steps to use technology to fight fog.

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The steps include a Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), a Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), and a Terrain Imaging for Diesel Drivers (Tri-NETRA) System, with the latest one being LED fog lights to improve visibility so that drivers can maintain normal speeds.

However, while these tech-tools are still being tried, the use of the tried-and-tested crackers is still in vogue during fog.

Since drivers cannot see the signals due to the fog, crackers are put on the track ahead of the station. When the train passes over the crackers they burst and alert the drivers that a station is approaching.

“For us, the safety of passengers is of paramount importance. Even if a train is delayed, the passengers should travel safe. Since visibility drops, drivers cannot see the signals and take the risk of maintaining the normal speed. There are always chances of accidents during the fog because drivers fail to see signals,” said a senior Railway Ministry official involved in safety who was not authorised to speak to the press.

The TPWS, based on the European system, and the indigenously-developed TCAS enable the driver to see the signal in his cabin through a cab signalling system. Even in dense fog or heavy rain, the driver easily sees the signals in his cabin and accordingly maintains speed. The system incorporates an automatic braking system in case the driver fails to do so manually in the event of an emergency.

However, only 35 locomotives are equipped with the TPWS system for trials. Besides, some EMUs on the Chennai suburban network and the Kolkata Metro are TPWS compliant.

With TCAS, drivers get a real-time display of signals inside the cabin, This traces the location of the train through the distance traversed through RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags installed on the tracks and transmits the signal to all other trains in the vicinity.

The Tri-NETRA system enables the driver to view the terrain on a computer installed in the cabin.

However, all these systems are in the pilot stage.

As for the LED fog lights, the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of the railways is currently finalising their specifications on these.

The railways expects that once these systems are installed, it will help in enhancing the vision of locomotive drivers in difficult weather conditions, such as fog, heavy rains and during the night time so that they have enough time to react to an emergency.

The Indian Railways on Monday unvieled its first Shatabdi Express train with upgraded comfort, enhanced hygiene, value-added features and improved interior under its ‘Operation Swarn’ programme.

The train, which will run between Uttarakhand’s Kathgodam and New Delhi, covering a distance of 282 km, now has a complete new refurbished interior with colorful vinyl wrapped seats and on-board entertainment services like luxury trains.

The new refurbished Shatabdi Express with enhanced features will leave for Kathgodam on Tuesday morning.

The new version also boasts with features like vibrant vinyl wrappings in doorways, gangways and luggage rack panels, while the compartment aisle has been earmarked with fluorescent strips for guidance of passengers.

The railways has also worked on the coach exterior by applying an anti-graffiti coating for enhanced protection and an all anti-abrasion permanent coating for the polished look of coach flooring.

he Indian Railways has upgraded the toilets with additional features such as dustbins, personal seat covers, automatic odour and hygiene control system in all coaches. (Photo: News18.com)

It has also upgraded the toilets with additional features such as dustbins, personal seat covers, automatic odour and hygiene control system in all coaches.

It has also provided disposable head rest covers in the executive class coaches.

Emphasising on on-board entertainment, the railways with the use of innovative technology, has provided Wi-Fi hotspots in the train so that the passengers can enjoy HD streaming of entertainment over their smart mobile phones.

Railway officials also said that special emphasis have been made with regard to upkeep of various passenger amenity fittings, and all the coaches have been provided with integrated Braille signages.

A railway official said that it also plans to provide CCTV and GPS based passenger information system in all these coaches.

For better catering services, trolley service have now been introduced in the train.

The Operation Swarn was undertaken by the Indian Railways in June with focus on 10 key areas — punctuality, cleanliness, linen, coach interiors, toilets, catering, staff behaviour, security, entertainment, housekeeping and regular feedback.

Under this Operation Swarn, the Railways has planned to spend Rs 50 lakh on each train. The Rs 25 crore venture covers 30 trains in total – 15 Rajdhani and 15 Shatabdi Express trains.

Railway has planned to progressively upgrade all Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains of similar or higher standards by March 2018.

The fifteen Rajdhani Express that would be covered under Operation Swarn include the ones plying to Mumbai, Howrah, Bhubaneshwar, Patna and Ranchi, while the Shatabdi Expresses running between Howrah-Puri, New Delhi-Kanpur, New Delhi-Chandigarh and Howrah-Ranchi are the ones included amongst the 15 premium trains under the project.

General Electric expects to dispose of its Transportation business unit over the next two years, along with its Industrial Solutions and Lighting activities, new CEO John Flannery confirmed on November 13.

Presenting his reshaping programme to investors, Flannery indicated that he was looking to ‘focus the portfolio’ around the power, aviation and healthcare markets, plus additive manufacturing, as he battles to turn around a business that has seen its stock market value fall by 35% this year, or more than US$100bn. Other changes include reducing the company board from 18 to 12 members and reducing dividend payments to around $1 from a target of $2 per share, the first reduction since 2009.

GE had indicated in October that it was exploring options to dispose of business activities valued at around US$20bn over the next two years, with GE Transportation thought to be on the list. The company had already sold off most of its consumer and finance operations. In his presentation, Flannery indicated that more than 10 business units were expected to go.

Insisting that GE Transportation was a ‘global market leader’ with a premier offering and strong digital business that was ‘close to key customers’, the group said the recent downturn in the North American locomotive market had been partly offset by international growth and a strong backlog in the services business. ‘Adapting to realities’ had included base cost reductions through ‘rigorous supply chain management’ and a focus on capital investment to optimise working capital requirements.

Nevertheless, there were ‘continued market challenges’ in Q4 and the business would still be under pressure in 2018-19. Predicting a ‘soft’ market for 2018, GE expects Transportation revenues to be down by 15% and profits by 25%.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is helping the Indian Railways use its satellite-based system to check accidents at unmanned railway crossings and track train movements on a real-time basis.

Working on a pilot project with Isro, the railways has installed space agency-developed integrated circuit (IC) chips on some train engines. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (or NaVIC) will be used to warn road users of approaching trains through hooters installed at unmanned road crossings.

Tapan Misra, director of Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC), confirmed that “ISRO and the Indian Railways have been working together on this pilot project since June”. Explaining the functioning of the satellite-based system, Misra said, “A hooter will be activated as soon as it gets signal from the IC chip installed on a train when its engine is at a distance of 500 metres to 4 km from the crossing. The hooter, linked to the navigation system, will thus warn road users about the approaching train. It will become louder as the train comes near the crossing and will fall silent after the train has passed.”

The SAC director said, “Under the pilot project, IC chips have been installed on five engines of trains on different routes. The testing on the satellite-based hooter system has been going on since June to check if it is reliable and can function under different climatic conditions.”

He said, “ISRO is using its constellation of seven navigation satellites (IRNSS or NaVIC) for the railway safety system as the technology, once the pilot project is over successfully, will be installed on all trains across the country in phased manner.”

Misra said, “The satellite-based system will also be used for tracking trains for disseminating information about their movement on a real-time basis.” He said, “The system will also help the railways map the area covered by trains. The technology will come in handy at the time of a railway accident when it can be used to ascertain the exact location of a train.”

The push for using the space technology for the railway safety system came after PM Narendra Modi, during a national meet on September 7, 2015, asked all central ministries and state governments to make the most of the ISRO technology to provide good governance.

Safety at unmanned level crossings is a cause for concern for the railways as these crossings witness maximum accidents. The national transporter had explored various ways to address the issue before settling for the Isro system. There are about 7,254 unmanned railway crossings in the country which account for around 40% of accidents involving the railways. There are about 18,000 manned level crossings.

The impending era of driverless rides could prove disruptive for traditional modes of public transport. But, Germany’s state-owned railway company thinks it has a solution, and it sounds like a lot of fun — especially for gamers. It just unveiled plans for a new train complete with a digital coach that packs TVs and game consoles. Deutsche Bahn’s “Ideenzug” (“Idea Train”) will also boast gym equipment and a play area for kids. The railway firm envisions the project as a way to keep pace with, and even overtake, self-driving cars. (If it thinks autonomous vehicles are a scary prospect, wait till it learns of the Hyperloop).

In a bid to ensure timely running of trains during winter, the Railways has planned to use GPS-enabled fog safety devices in the trains to alert the loco pilot about approaching signals.

A railway official told that plans were afoot to use the GPS-based devices in trains that would provide advance warning.

The official said that the Railways has provided about 2,400 of these devices in northern India where trains are worst-hit by intense fog during winter.

He said 900 of these GPS devices have been given to the Delhi zone.

Besides, the Railways will also deploy fogmen to place detonators on the tracks to alert the loco pilots about approaching signals.

Officials will undertake intensive night foot plate inspection and track patrolling to detect cases of rail fracture, a major cause of derailment during winter.

The auto signalling system will also be converted to semi-automatic and speed restrictions will be imposed during an intense fog situation.

The Railways is also planning to provide sufficient walkie-talkie sets to the crew and station staff. They will also provide signal indication booklet to loco pilots, and carry out counselling on working during fog.

During intense fog situations the Railways faces problems like shortage of crew due to longer working hours on a train due to slower mobility, complete disorientation of timetable, heavy crowding of waiting passengers and non-availability of track maintenance slots due to reduced capacity.

After commissioning of Bengaluru-Hassan New Railway Line, there was a persistent demand from the public to run combined train No. 16517/16518, KSR Bengaluru-Kannur- KSR Bengaluru and Train No. 16523/16524, KSR Bengaluru-Karwar – KSR Bengaluru train via the new line as it is the shorter route to reach Mangaluru compared to that via Mysuru. To fulfil their demand and also keeping in mind the need of passengers travelling to Mangaluru from Mysuru, Railway has decided to divert KSR Bengaluru- Kannur /Karwar –KSR Bengaluru train to run via Shravanabelagola route for 4 days in a Week duly changing Train Numbers, Days of services and timings. For the remaining 3 days the train will run via Mysuru without any change in existing timings.

Accordingly, the diverted combined Train No. 16511/16513, KSR Bengaluru-Kannur /Karwar Express via Shravanabelagola will leave KSR Bengaluru at 19:15 hours on every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with effect from 10^th February, 2018 and reaches Mangalore Central at 06:20 hours next day. Enroute, the train arrives/departs Yesvanpur at 19:28/19:30hrs., Kunigal at 20:44/20:45 hrs., B.G.Nagar at 21:15/21:16 hrs., Shravanabelagola at 21:51/21:52 hrs., Channarayapatna at 22:01/22:02 hrs., Hassan at 23:05/23:10 hrs., Sakleshpur at 00:05/00:15 hrs., Subhramanya Road at 03:30/03:35 hrs., Yedamangala at 03:50/03:52 hrs., Kabakaputtur at 04:18/04:20 hrs., Bantawal at 04:58/05:00 hrs. and Mangalore Junction at 05:58/06:00 hrs. In this route, the travelling time between KSR Bengaluru and Mangalore Central will reduce by 45 minutes. From Mangalore Central, Train No. 16511, KSR Bengaluru-Kannur Express departs at 06:40 hrs. to reach Kannur at 10:00 hrs. Enroute the train arrives/departs Kasargod at 07:28/07:30 hrs., Kanhangad at 07:53/07:55 hrs., Payyanur at 09:08/09:10 hrs. From Mangalore Central, Train No. 16513, KSR Bengaluru- Karwar Express departs at 07:00 hrs. to reach Karwar at 12:30 hrs. Enroute, the train arrives/departs Suratkal at 07:51/07:52 hrs., Mulki at 08:03/08:04 hrs., Udupi at 08:29/08:30 hrs., Barkur at 08:45/08:46 hrs., Kundapur at 09:04/09:05 hrs., Mookambika Road Byndoor at 09:40/09:41 hrs., Bhatkal at 09:57/09:58 hrs., Murdeshwar at 10:19/10:20 hrs., Honnavar at 10:49/10:50 hrs. (experimental halt), Kumta at 11:03/11:04 hrs., Gokarna Road at 11:23/11:24 hrs. and Ankola at 11:35/11:36 hrs. In return direction, the diverted combined Train No. 16512/16514, Kannur/Karwar-KSR Bengaluru Express via Shravanabelagola will run on every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with effect from 11^th February, 2018 with no change in timings from Kannur/Karwar upto Hassan. From Hassan the train departs at 02:50 hrs. to reach KSR Bengaluru at 06:55 hrs. Enroute, the train arrives/ departs Channarayapatna at 03:39/03:40 hrs., Shravanabelagola at 03:50/03:51 hrs., B.G. Nagar at 04:25/04:26hrs., Kunigal at 04:59/05:00hrs. and Yesvantpur at 06:38/06:40 hrs. In this route, the travelling time between Mangalore Central and KSR Bengaluru will reduce by 1hour 25 minutes. Days of service from Bengaluru have been made as Wednesday to Saturday for facilitating passengers travelling from Bengaluru to their native towns in coastal region for weekends. Similarly, days of service from Mangalore have been chosen as Sunday to Wednesday to facilitate passengers of coastal region visiting Bengaluru to attend office work.

Combined Tri-Weekly Train No. 16517/16523, KSR Bengaluru-Kannur/Karwar Express via Mysuru will run on every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with effect from 11^th February, 2018 without any change in existing timings. In return direction Train No. 16518/16524, Kannur/Karwar-KSR Bengaluru Tri-weekly Express via Mysuru will run on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday with effect from 15^th February, 2018 without any change in existing timings.

The South Eastern Railway on Monday announced the cancellation of several winter special trains. Several of these trains including those passing through Tatanagar and various other railway stations under Chakradharpur Railway Division have been cancelled.

The circular issued by Garden Reach, the Kolkata-based headquarters of South Eastern Railway said that the 02822 Santragachi-Pune Special leaving Santragachi on November 18, the 02834 Santragachi-Rajkot Special leaving Santragachi on November 17, 08093 Shalimar-Bhanjpur Special leaving Shalimar on November 17 and 02833 Rajkot-Santragachi Special leaving Rajkot on November 19 will remain cancelled.

The 02822 Santragachi-Pune Special train reaches Tatanagar on Saturdays at 10 pm while the 02834Santragachi-Rajkot Special reaches here at 12.50 pm on Friday. The 08093 Shalimar-Bhanjpur Special reaches here around midnight of every Friday while the 02833 Rajkot-Santragachi Special reaches here on every Tuesday at 12.45 pm.

A SER spokesperson said, ” We have cancelled all 16 special trains between November 17 and 19 for installation work of new electronic interlocking system and remodelling of railway yard at the Kharagpur railway station. Of 16, four special trains travel via Tatanagar and other railway stations on the Howrah-Mumbai route.”

Two other special trains 08628 Ranchi-Howrah Special leaving Ranchi on November 19 and 08627 Howrah-Ranchi Special leaving Howrah on November 19 would also remain cancelled because of the track work at Kharagpur junction.

On the other hand Its seems there are no end to the woes of passengers as fog in the northern parts of the country, particularly the national capital New Delhi, has taken a toll on train schedules.

As many as four trains — New Delhi – Puri Neelanchal Express, New Delhi- Bhubaneshwar SamparkKranti Express, Bhubaneshwar- New Delhi Rajdhani Express and Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Superfast Express are getting delayed at Tatanagar from past one week.

Railway officials said that dense fog in the northern parts of the country is taking a toll on movement of passenger trains. ” We have opened an extra counter at the railway station for refund of tickets and also to inform the passengers about the latest status of trains,” said an official.

Officials at the ticket booking counter said that several passengers are opting for cancellation of tickets due to delayed running of the train. 

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