Railways now to secure its signalling equipment with double-lock system

Days after the tragic triple train accident in Odisha, which has claimed 288 lives so far and left around a thousand injured, the Indian Railways has decided to secure its 'goomties', the small cabins that house signalling equipment on railway station premises, with a 'double-lock' arrangement.

Railway officials said a week-long safety drive will be launched to ensure that the cabins which house such equipment are provided with a dual-lock access system. Moreover, the officials at the zonal level have been told to inspect and ensure that an SMS alert is generated upon opening or closing of the relay rooms.

A goomty is a small tool room near the railway stations or at the level crossings where the railway equipment are stored. Railway Board's Executive Director-Safety Tej Prakash Agrawal has sent a circular to all Zonal General Managers directing them to launch the month-long safety drive to ensure that the goomties are provided with double locks.

It is said that the step has been taken as it is strongly felt that a signalling failure is the main reason behind the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express entering the loop line while its signal was cleared for passage on the main line. The electronic interlocking system is suspected to have been tempered with -- either due to negligence or with a criminal intent.

Railway officials had earlier hinted at a possible "sabotage" and tampering with the interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the accident involving the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train.

In the circular, senior railway officials have been told to inspect and ensure the existing doublelocking arrangement for relay rooms, a sensitive installation that controls the signals, points and the interlocking system at railway stations.

The Station Masters generally have one key of these relay rooms while the signal maintainers have the duplicate one. They too have been told to ensure that an SMS alert is generated upon opening or closing of the relay rooms.

"All relay rooms in stations should be checked and ensured for proper working of double locking arrangement it should also be checked and ensured that there is data logging and generation of SMS alert for opening and closing of door of these relay rooms," the circular read.

Further, the authorities have been asked to make sure that the system of disconnection and reconnection for S&T (signalling and traffic) equipment is being followed strictly as per laid down norms and guidelines.

According to the railways, the safety drive will check 100 per cent of these in all locations and "super checked to add another layer of checking by officers in that zone." The results of the drive have to be sent to the Railway Board by June 14, 2023.