S Manohar, SR's chief signal and telecommunication engineer said that the Southern Railway (SR) is modernizing its signal and telecommunications system in a big way to reduce signal failures. It has reduced incidents of signal failures by 30% in the last financial year.
Manohar gave away safety awards to the members of the Trivandrum, Trichy and Madurai divisions on the eve of 59th Railway Week Celebrations here on Saturday.
Manohar said that Madurai division has so far converted 90% of signals with LED (light-emitting diodes) replacing conventional filament lights. LED signals are easy to maintain, durable and require minimum power. Moreover, they provide higher visibility to loco pilots operating trains.
He said that the railway zone will soon convert all signal lights to LED, but the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) will retain its conventional lights and signalling system for preserving its heritage aspects.
He said that more than 30% of the area in SR is now providing signal and telecommunication services with integrated power supply (IPS) system.
Most railway stations in Chennai now have the IPS, while Madurai station will also be getting one, he said. The advantage of IPS is that the signals will function even during power cut.
Besides, the safety department has also introduced 'self restoring fuse' option to avoid signal failure due to fuse malfunction. More than 70 stations in the zone are provided with electronic interlocking system. Another 70 stations will also be getting the facility, he said.
He added that SR's signal & telecommunication workshop at Podanur enables the division to come up with lot of research on the signalling and telecommunication front.