Railway Union Expresses Concern Over Not Adhering Protocols During Signal Failure

A railway union has expressed concern over not adhering protocols during signal failure.

New Delhi: After the derailment of the Secunderabad-Shalimar Weekly Express at Nalpur in the Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railway last week, a Railway Union has expressed concerns regarding signal failure and not adhering protocols as per set rules.

According to a preliminary inquiry, signal no S-10 of NALR failure was not informed by on-duty officials, and the driver also passed the signal without a proper memo.

Alok Chandra Prakash, General Secretary, Indian Railways S&T Maintainers’ Union told ETV Bharat, "Once the official notices signal failure related issue, the responsible officials should book it in logbook and issue memo for further procedure which should follow everyone to run safe and secure train operation."

Om Prakash Chara, Chief Public Relations Officer, South Eastern Railway told ETV Bharat, "I am not aware of the investigation and action taken against any employee after this incident. (You should) contact the concerned division to get updates on it."

The Union also raised the issue of raising the education qualifications of signal technicians that will help to handle new aged technology signals like electronic interlocking.

On Saturday, three coaches including one parcel van of the Secunderabad Shalimar Express weekly train derailed at Nalpur following which a probe panel conducted a preliminary probe which highlighted signal malfunctioning and official concern’s failure to adhere to the General rule/subsidiary rule.

The Union members also raised questions about the working pattern of the Kharagpur division where this derailment happened on Saturday and it was the same division where the Balasore triple trains clash claimed several lives in 2023.

Navin Kumar, National President, Indian Railways S&T Maintainers’ Union told ETV Bharat, “We have raised issues of signal staff. The education level of a signal technician should be increased to graduation in science and other technical skills which will help to handle new aged technology of signal systems. It will be helpful for running smooth and safe train operations."

What are Electronic Interlocking Systems?

Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralised operation of points and signals have been installed at 6,589 stations up to June 30, to eliminate accidents caused by human error. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates has been provided at 11,048 level crossing gates up to June 30, enhancing safety at LC gates, the Ministry of Railways earlier said.

What is Track Circuiting?

Complete Track Circuiting of stations which enhances safety by verifying track occupancy through electrical means has been implemented at 6,609 stations as of June 30, it said.

What is Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh?

RRSK was introduced in 2017-18 to replace, renew, and upgrade critical safety assets, with a corpus of Rs one lakh crore over five years, ending in 2021-22. In 2022-23, the Centre extended the RRSK for another five-year period, with Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs 45,000 crores.

What is Kavach system?

Kavach, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, assists loco pilots by automatically applying brakes if the pilot fails to do so, and ensures safe operation during adverse weather conditions. Adopted as the National ATP system in July 2020, Kavach has been deployed over 1,465 route km and on 144 locomotives (including Electric Multiple Unit rakes) on the South Central Railway.

The latest Kavach 4.0 specification was approved by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation on July 16. As of July 24, 2024, Rs 1,216.77 crore had been spent on Kavach, with an additional Rs 1,112.57 crore allocated for 2024-25, the Ministry had said.