Indian Railways to go high-speed on Golden Quadrilateral

Trains running on the Golden Quadrilateral connecting Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai will run faster. The Indian Railways going for a massive overhaul of signalling system, on routes connecting these metropolitan cities, which is part of the Rs 77,000-crore project spread across 60000 kms on Indian Railways.

Of the total trains, 70 per cent of rail traffic is generated on this golden quadrilateral. The Indian Railways are looking at introducing the signalling system which is used by railways across Europe. It is called as European Train Control System (ETCS) wherein the distance between two trains will minimise and safety of its running will improve. In this system; radio signals and satellites will be used. In this mechanism, the electronics inside the train will send signals to the fixed blocks next to the tracks which will then determine speed and distance between two trains.

Using satellites; this system will continuously send signal waves and thus determine position of the train. “We do not want the engine drivers to peep out of their cabins to look at the train signal. Initially, 150 kms of stretches connecting these four cities part of golden quadrilateral will be taken up. We are also calling tenders for the same,” said a Railway Board official.

Apart from this, the Railways are also looking at another system called Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which has is being tried out in Secunderabad division. This is a ‘Make in India’ initiative for which trials on on 250 kms.