Indian Railways to overhaul ageing signalling systems for enhanced safety 

Indian Railways to replace outdated signalling systems to enhance safety and reliability, focusing on urgent maintenance and staff training.

Worried over many signalling systems remaining functional beyond their recommended lifespan, the Indian Railways has decided to replace signal assets that have outlived their codal life.

In a directive to General Managers of all Zonal Railways, the Ministry of Railways emphasised the urgent need to prioritise the replacement of signal assets nearing or surpassing their codal life. To avoid delays, this critical work would be carried out independently, without impacting the ongoing infrastructure projects, including track doubling and the construction of third or fourth lines.

By rolling out a ‘Plan for Reliability Improvement and Maintenance Effectiveness’ (PRIME), the Railways aims at improving the reliability and maintainability of signalling systems, which were vital for safe train operations. The plan underscores the need for regular staff training and counselling on safety and maintenance protocols to ensure high standards of work quality.

A key issue highlighted by the Ministry is the frequent occurrence of cable cuts along railway tracks, which had led to multiple signalling failures. These disruptions not only hampered train operations but posed serious safety risks, potentially resulting in catastrophic accidents. 

According to senior Railway officials, the renewed focus on safety came in the wake of several major train accidents over the past two years, including the tragic triple train collision in Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2, 2023, which claimed 291 lives and left over 900 injured. Faulty signals were suspected to have led to the devastating accident. 

Also, in the two major rear-end collisions, one in the Waltair Division of East Coast Railway and the other in the Katihar Division of Northeast Frontier Railway, in the past one year, lapses in managing train operations in automatic signalling territory were cited as reasons for the accidents. 

To address these issues, the Railways instructed training centres to provide special focus on acquainting and training of staff of all concerned departments on new systems that are coming up.