No chance of a back up signalling system: CR

Central Railway commuters who experienced utter chaos after a fire engulfed the signalling panel at Kurla on Tuesday night might be justified in thinking that they would have been spared the ordeal if the railways had a back up signalling system Unfortunately there isnrsquot any backup for the signalling panel in case of any such unforeseen situations and setting up a new panel will invoke a humungous expenditure Railway officials feel that having a backup for such signalling panels technically called Route Relay Interlocking RRI is impossible as these are massive systems ldquoThe expenditure required for setting up a backup signalling panel and systems is enormous Moreover a large tract of land is needed for such setupsrdquo said a senior railway official The signalling system at Kurla had cost over Rs 5 crore In a fix Central Railway officials claim that barring a few signals the rest have been restored and that services would run on time from Saturday PICSameer Markande Railway experts claim that having a backup for such huge RRIs is similar to having two houses ldquoA second signalling system would take the same space and so it would become unviable to connect two RRIs at the same timerdquo said another railway official Each panel controls the working of a lsquopointrsquo that connects intersection of tracks which enables trains to change tracks and directions Safe operations In order to achieve a safe operation to get a green signal the signalling system assures that the track ahead of the signal to the next is free RRIs ensure that the signal changes from red to yellow to double yellow and to green depending on the movement and distance of trains RRIs connect and control train operations on particular sections The ground floor of the building where signalling panels were installed and got charred controlled over 68 signals on the SionKurla stretch including Tilak Nagar and Kurla LTT terminus and car shed tracks where trains are maintained ldquoWe have a system of running trains even when signals arenrsquot functioning It is not possible to have backup for such a huge signalling systemrdquo said V Malegaonkar chief PRO Central Railwayu00a0Central Railway officials claim that barring a few signals the rest have been restored and that services would run on time from Saturday Meanwhile railway experts and exrailway officials state that it is an impossible task to have a backup for such huge systems anywhere in world They claim that even countries like Japan or European nations where highspeed trains operate would not have a separate signal panel as backup ldquoThe only backup for running these signalling systems is by having additional power supply through digisets or inverters to prevent a power supply problemrdquo said Vishnukumar a former railway official They feel that the best way to prevent a fire is to have an improved fire alarm system that would not only inform the fire brigade but also minimize the affect of the fire on the systems On April 18 only a couple of rail employees and railway police officers had tried dousing fire using dry chemical powder and fire extinguishers Train update gtgt Yesterday CR operated 917 services off the planned 974 till 5 pm gtgt Today CR expects train services on the main line to run 20 minutes late while harbour line commuters can expect delays of 10 minutes gtgt The signals have been corrected in a way that they indicate red and yellow colour It would take at least one more day to ensure that the signals also display double yellow and green colours gtgt A threemember committee will prepare a report on the incident within a week Fire scare near Kurla signal cabin A minor fire was reported yesterday at a spot close to the Kurla signal panel building that was gutted on Tuesday Yesterdayrsquos fire is alleged to have occurred due to a gas leak at around 515 pm when workers were cooking food inside the building ldquoThe workers immediately doused the fire using extinguishers even as fire engines reached the spot No one was injured in the incidentrdquo said a CR official It is alleged that the workers were preparing food at the entrance of the twostoried building when the fire erupted This was the second mishap this week even as 200 workers including railway officials were working round the clock to restore the signalling and crossing point operations that were affected due to the earlier fire u00a0