Device to alert railway staff about approaching train

Chennai: There is good news for the nearly two lakh railway gang-man currently known as track maintainers for whom a new safety device called ‘Rakshak’ will avert them from accidents.

A signal from the device will alert them on an approaching train that could help them move away from the tracks.

The handheld walkie-talkie, also called as a train-passing indicator, would provide alerts by way of LED (Light Emitting Diode) indication with a buzzer and the vibration of approaching trains. The hand-held device receives signals from a transistor that is attached at the nearest station.

“The device will be of great use for us as working on the tracks, especially in three-lane and four-lane tracks during high traffic is dangerous. Right now, when any train approaches a senior supervisor informs us on the arrival. There are a number of instances at Basin bridge yard where even they were not been able to notice on the train arrival,” said K. Udhaya Kumar, a track maintainer based in Basin bridge yard.

In December, an express train hit two track maintainers who died at the spot near Avadi station. In Chennai division, at least 10 to 12 death cases are reported among those who work on the railway tracks.

The device that is yet to be handy to 525 track maintainers in Chennai division is currently under trial in the Ippaguda — Ghanpur, Naskal — Pindial and Ghanpur — Naskal blocks in the Secunderabad — Khazipet section. “In Secunderabad section, there has been no single instance of the device not alerting the gang man of the approaching train in the ast one month of trials that is conducted,” said a senior official in the safety department, Chennai division.

The railway board has directed the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) based in Lucknow to submit a report on the performance of the device. In total, there are 22,000 track maintainers working in the Southern Railway.