The Hindu Business Line : Railways to install anti-collision device across network by 2013

Indian Railways will install anti-collision device (ACD), which is an on-board train protection device indigenously developed by Konkan Railway, on the entire railway network by 2013 so as to reduce chances of collisions.

According to an official release, pilot implementation of ACD has been successfully commissioned on the Northeast Frontier Railway this year. Survey for expanding the system to another 10,000 route kilometres falling on the critical and busy sections of the network is almost completed.

The installation of this device will go a long way in preventing accidents due to collision, which is more fatal in nature, the release said. The application of this device has been refined to not only prevent mid section collisions but also to pre-empt their occurrences in station yards.

The newly engineered solution is integrated with the signalling systems and interlocking to react appropriately in case collision like conditions are perceived at the time of reception and dispatch of trains from a station.

The statement added, despite the phenomenal increase in traffic, the numbers of consequential train accidents have come down from 464 in 2000-01 to 234 in 2005-06, a reduction of almost 50 per cent. In the year 2006-07, the number of accidents has further come down to 195.