To prevent any mishap due to low visibility during winter, Northern Railway has installed fog safety devices in about 350 trains, including goods services. Jammu Rajdhani, Shalimar Express and Shatabdi services for Kalka, Chandigarh and Amritsar are among the 350 trains that are equipped with fog safety devices, Divisional Railway Manager A.Sachan said in New Delhi on Saturday.
While 250 mail and express trains, mostly north-bound are being fitted with the device, about 100 locomotives of goods trains are also having the facility. “We had tried the fog safety device in some trains last year on a pilot basis. Since the device was found to be a great help to loco pilots, we went ahead with the system in about 350 trains this year,” Mr.Sachan said.
The fog safety device is a GPS-based system which is placed in the driver’s cabin. The device alerts the driver of the approaching signal on the track during the fog. The foggy weather affects the visibility of signals. It cost about Rs.35,000 to install the device in a train. “We will install the devices in 300 more trains in the next fiscal,” he said.
About the effectiveness of the device, the DRM said, “There has not been any accident due to the fog as it helps the driver to see the signal in dense foggy conditions.” Foggy weather condition poses a great challenge to the Railways, especially in Northern region of the country in terms of operations.
Northern Railways have cancelled the services of 16 trains and partially cancelled four trains till February 15. Trained staff are being deployed during this period along with opening of two more additional counters at New Delhi and one each at Old Delhi, Anand Vihar and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations to cater to the needs of passengers.
