In its continuous tryst to march with latest technological innovations, Indian Railway Project Management Unit (IRPMU), an arm of North Central Railway in association with the Construction and open line Units of the Railway, commissioned computer based state of the Art Signalling System at Khurja Junction, a city famous for pottery in Uttar Pardesh. By applying innovative methodology, Khurja yard which will now have 256 possible movements; was commissioned in a short period of 4 hours only on Feburary14, 2016, thereby avoiding any disruptions to traffic and inconvenience to passengers. This work of Signal Wizardry will help in quicker movements of trains since the train path will be cleared by a central operator with click of a mouse on the VDU(Visual Display Unit). The VDU will display online position of each train in the complete Khurja Yard of 4.5 Km including adjoining track portions which ensures safety of trains.
Salient Features of the Project :
· Khurja Jn. is a Major yard in Allahabad division of Indian Railway, which after remodelling and re-signalling will have 256 possible movements leading to immense flexibility.
· Signalling system in Hot standby configuration has been used to provide redundancy to increase reliability.
· Existing East, West cabins with lever frames have been replaced enhancing safety& reliability. All operations are being done through VDU’s provided in SM room of Khurja station by click of a mouse leading to faster clearance of trains.
· Standing room of all lines increased to accommodate full train lengths including two lines for accommodating long haul trains of 118 wagons increasing freight moving capacity.
· Maintenance Terminal for easy localization of faults.
· Safer shunting operations through Shunt signals to improve safety.
· Centralized operation by one station Master instead of 2 cabin masters and one station master thereby saving manpower and resulting in faster clearance.
This re-signaling work has been executed as part of the project of Modernization of Signalling and telecommunication System on Ghaziabad – Kanpur section of Indian Railways costing Rs. 440cr, a substantial part of which has been executed through a soft funding by German Development Bank. The major components of the project are Replacement of worn out Signalling Gears at 47 stations, Automatic Signalling enabling multiple trains between two stations thereby enhancing line capacity, captive Global System of Mobile (GSM) for railways enabling secured communication between driver, guard, station master and controllers.
The culmination of the project will see an ultra Modern Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) system which will enable controlling and giving command for all trains running in Ghaziabad to Kanpur from a central place i.e. Tundla. The CTC is being built by integrating Computer Based signalling systems at stations and Automatic Signalling Systems between stations which will further increase traffic handling capacity in the section.