Railways installs new equipment to prevent accidents

Sri Lankan Railway authorities in an attempt to prevent train accidents have decided to install new equipment to sense the presence of the trains on the tracks.

Accordingly, Sri Lanka Railways has taken measures to install special equipment in the engines of the locomotives to enable the driver to identify trains on the track 10 kilometers ahead.

The equipment operates with the assistance of a telecommunication service provider. The new devices are to be installed in ten express trains in the initial stage and later in all trains based on the results of the tests, Sri Lanka Railway Planning Director Wijaya Samarasinghe said.

The trains fitted with the sensing equipment can be identified and monitored from the Railways control room.

The authorities hope the new equipment will prevent fatal accidents similar to the one that happened on the Colombo-Kandy rack last month which killed five people and caused heavy losses to the Railway Department. (Colombo Page)