South Central Railway has put one more step forward towards installation of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and successfully commissioned the project for a distance of 21.5 Kms on 30th October, 2020 between Umri & Sivungaon stations in Mudkhed – Secunderabad section of Hyderabad Division. The installation & commissioning of TCAS between these sections by South Central Railway is for the first time on Indian Railways after development stage and marks the beginning of installation of TCAS project. The project was installed and executed by M/s. Medha.
During the development stage of the indigenously designed TCAS, South Central Railway has been identified to conduct the trails in association with RDSO, Lucknow between Lingampalli – Vikarabad – Wadi & Vikarabad – Bidar sections. On its successful implementation, Railway Board has advised Zonal Railways to implement TCAS project.
- Accordingly, on SCR implementation of TCAS project has been sanctioned for a distance 1200 kms between Manmad – Nanded – Secunderabad – Dhone – Guntakal and Bidar – Part’ – Parbhani sections.
- As a part of it, the Zone has taken initiative for early implementation of the project and now successfully completed for a distance of 21.5 kms between Umri and Sivungaon stations of Hyderabad Division which is for the first time across Indian Railways.
- TCAS is an indigenously designed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System and has been developed by Indian Railways in association with Indian manufacturers.
- This system is mainly aimed to have capability in preventing train accidents caused due to Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) by train, disobedience of train speed restrictions etc. by automatic application of the brakes should the train driver fail to do so.
- It would, in addition, also avoid certain other collision like scenarios even in case of non-interlocked or non-signalled territory.
- It also provides assistance to Loco Pilots by means of real-time display of signalling related information such as Movement Authority, Target Speed, Target Distance, Signal Aspects etc. in Loco Pilot’s cab.
TCAS system mainly consists of 3 components:
- Stationary TCAS unit
- Locomotive TCAS unit
- RFID tags at sleepers
Some salient features of TCAS are:
- Detection and Prevention of SPAD.
- Display of movement authority to loco pilot.
- Continuous train control.
- In-Cab Signalling.
- Loop-line Speed Control.
- Protection for Permanent Speed restrictions.
- Head-On and Rear end Collision Prevention.
- Prevention of collision (side- infringement).
Loco trials have been successfully conducted between Umri & Sivungaon stations with TCAS Diesel loco and ensured that the system is functioning correctly. Display of all signal aspects in DMI, automatic whistling at enroute LC gates, speed supervision & SPAD prevention features have been perfectly observed during the trials.
TCAS installed between Umri & Sivungaon stations consists of:
- TCAS station unit at Sivungaon & Umri stations and Relay wiring and power supply arrangements.
- 40m high TCAS towers & associated cabling in redundant path.
- Programmed RFID tags in stations and in block section.
- Established Radio Communication for Full Supervision mode
- NMS connectivity to the Divisional test room located at divisional headquarters.
Shri Gajanan Mallya, General Manager. SCR stated that Safety in the train operations is first and foremost priority in Railways and SCR will always be in the forefront in executing the works to enhance safety. He expressed his happiness on the successful installation of TCAS between Umri & Sivungaon stations. He congratulated Officials of Hyderabad Division and Signal and Telecommunication department for their dedication in execution of the project and advised them to show the same tempo in implementation of the entire project.
Source: South Central Railway-Press Release
