European Train Control System To Be Adapted For First Time In India: All You Need To Know

Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System: With the country’s premier semi-high speed rapid rail coming up between Delhi and Meerut, India is all set to adopt the European Train Control System (ETCS) in mainline railways for the very first time. Recently, multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom won a contract worth €106 million to design, supply, and install the train control, signalling, and telecommunication system for the 82 km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut regional rapid transit system (RRTS) corridor. The country’s first regional rapid rail corridor will reduce the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to just 55 minutes. (Also Read:Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Alstom Wins Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail’s Contract For Signalling, Telecommunications )

As part of the contract won by Alstom, the work for the Delhi-Meerut rapid rail project will include design, supply, installation, testing as well as commissioning of signalling, train control, supervision, platform screen doors, and telecommunication systems for the corridor. According to Alstom, the Delhi-Meerut regional rapid line will be the first in the country to adopt the European Train Control System hybrid level  32 signalling system, which is the core signalling and train control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

Here’s all you need to know about the  European Train Control System, which will be introduced for the first time in the country:

European Train Control System – Top Features:

• European train control signalling system will not only facilitate interoperability but will also ensure the train movement at quick frequencies, eventually reducing the waiting time for passengers.
• According to Alstom, the contract is the world’s first contract to involve a combination of the latest ETCS standard supported by the digital Interlocking and automatic train operation (ATO) over long term evolution (LTE) radio.
• The ETCS hybrid level three optimises the line capacity in complete safety by anticipating and adapting the speed of the trains through continuous train control and supervision through a radio-based signalling system.
• It is arguably the most efficient train control system in the world, bringing significant advantages combined with automatic train operation (ATO) in terms of maintenance cost and energy savings, safety, reliability, punctuality, and traffic capacity.
•  European train control system is a replacement for the legacy train protection systems and is designed to replace many incompatible safety systems currently in operation.