Indian Railways upgrades signal system in Western Ghats

The South Western Railway (SWR) on Sunday cleared the way for running more number of trains in the Mangaluru-Hassan route with the commissioning of a new state-of-the-art signalling system at Yedakumari and Kadagaravalli stations in the ghat section.

According to a PTI report, the system, which was commissioned on October 1, would facilitate the crossing of trains at Yedakumari and Kadagaravalli stations in the Sakaleshpur-Subramanya road section of the ghat stretch.

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A press release from the Mysuru division of the SWR said the new system would increase the train-handling capacity in the section by 35%.

Earlier, no train could enter the 55-km ghat section when another train was passing through. With the new system, trains from both the directions can cross at the two stations thereby enhancing the line capacity of the section.

The project with multi-section digital axle counter technology was executed at a cost of Rs 4.4 crore by the Hassan-Mangaluru rail development company.

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Restrictions on the crossing of trains on the ghat section imposed by the railway safety commissioner due to the non-availability of catch-siding at the two stations was the main hurdle to operate more freight and passenger trains in the route.

The signalling project work, which started in June, was executed in a record time of three months. The work was completed by September-end as was expected, the release said.

SWR Mysuru divisions senior divisional signal and telecommunication engineer D Sreenivasulu led the project team.

Mysuru divisional railway manager Aparna Garg complimented the team and said she was confident that the introduction of the new safety protocol would pave the way for safer and more efficient train operations in the ghat section.