By IANS,
New Delhi : Northern Railway will install 500 fog safety devices in trains touching the national capital to ensure safety and avoid delays during winters when visibility deteriorates sharply, according to its spokesperson.
“We have already placed an order of 500 fog safety devices. These will be installed by the end of this month in 500 trains that come and go from Delhi,” Northern Railway spokesperson A. S. Negi said.
“We recently concluded the trials of these safety devices and are satisfied with the result,” Negi told IANS, adding each such device could cost around Rs.40,000 and work using global positioning system (GPS) technology, or satellite-based navigation.
“Our fog safety device will be a portable instrument that works on GPS and it will be fitted in engines. The devices can alert drivers about signals, railway crossings and also if someone is crossing the tracks in a range of four kilometres.”
Negi said earlier several trains would get delayed during winter due to poor visibility. There was also the safety factor. He said Northern Railway also uses detonators to alert drivers about approaching signals during dense foggy days.
“The general practice during foggy days is to place these detonators 270 metres before a signal. They burst when trains pass over them and the blast alerts the driver about an approaching signal to slow the train and see the light,” said the spokesperson.