NEW DELHI: Beginning January, the Indian Railways is installing a new device “Trinetra” meaning Third eye on the passenger-carrying trains after a trial runs on 100 trains to allow full speed in dense fog without compromising on safety. All trains on the Northern Railway that are most affected by the fog will be equipped with this device before the next winter.
The device, developed in-house by the mechanical wing of the Railways, uses infra-red and laser rays to detect any object on the tracks up to a distance of two km and display the information on a screen fitted inside the locomotive. It also detects any minor damage or crack in the tracks, thus averting the rail accidents.
The Railway officials said during the trial the device successfully detected the presence of small objects on the track at least 500 metres in advance as also minor defects in the tracks to let the loco pilot stop the train at a safe distance. The trial was going on since last year and its working has been also demonstrated to the Prime Minister’s office, they said.
They said the device will be very useful in averting derailments, train collisions and accidents on the unmanned railway crossings. They said the radar-based system has been found to be accurate in sensing any physical obstruction on the tracks. The device was successfully test on nearly 100 mail and express trains, including the New Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi Express.
The officials said the Trinetra will prove more useful during nights and in foggy conditions when the drivers have to constantly look outside to assess the condition. They said installation of the device will begin in January, with a plan to put it on nearly 4,000 trains in the first phase in the Northern Railway zone that witnesses maximum train disruptions due to fog. They said the device will be efficient in heavy rains as well.
