Railways to equip its entire network with ACD by 2013

New Delhi, Aug 10 (UNI) The much-trumpeted Anti Collision Device (ACD), an on-board train protection mechanism indigenously developed by Konkan Railway, will be in place by 2013 on the entire Indian Railway network, a ministry official said today.

The official said the pilot implementation of ACD -- known as 'Suraksha Kavach' -- was successfully commissioned on the Northeast Frontier Railway earlier this year.

''A survey for expanding the system to another 10,000 route kilometres falling on the critical and busy sections of the network is almost complete,'' he said, adding that the device would considerably reduce the number of train accidents, a major problem area of Indian Railways.

''The work will be executed by the Konkan Railway in phases,'' he said.

The official pointed out that the installation of ACD, the first such system developed anywhere in the world, would go a long way in preventing accidents due to collision, which is more fatal in nature.

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,'' he said.

In addition, the design of crash-worthy coaches and tight lock couplers with anti-climbing features has already been finalised and all future coaches are being made as per new design.

Raksha Kavach, apart from shielding the ACD-fitted trains from colliding, also averts other types of disasters with its train parting detection and warning techniques to road users at level crossings.

Despite the phenomenal increase in traffic, the numbers of train accident came down from 464 in 2000-01 to 234 in 2005-06, a reduction of almost 50 per cent.

In 2006-07, the numbers were further reduced to 195, the lowest ever since the sixties.

The official said Konkan Railway had secured patent cover for 'Raksha Kavach' in India and South Africa, while applications are pending in the US and some other European and Asian countries.

''Getting the patent was a major development, and it would open up new vistas for innovative technologies developed by the Konkan Railway,'' he added.

UNI