PODANUR JN

Honble Minister of State for Railways, Shri. Suresh Angadi today inaugurated a host of “Innovations/Technology adoptions by Signalling &Telecommunication(S&T) Department, Southern Railway, viz.,

·“RailMitra- A Covid Warrior” & “Solid State Automatic Signalling System” developed by S&T workshop, Podanur.

·New Installations of “Siemens EI (Electronic Interlocking) System & “Online Examination Module” in S&T Training Centre, Podanur.

·High availability Short-haul Circuit with SDH(Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) in Salem-Omalur section&Implementation of IP/MPLS(Internet Protocol/ Multiprotocol Label Switching) in Arakkonam-Tiruttani Section

·Laying of OFC Cable using Blown Fibre Technology” for the first time in Indian Railways

Ø“RailMitra- A Covid Warrior”:It is microprocessor based robot which will avoid direct contact with the covid patients by Serving them the essential treatment medicines, food and water etc., It has sensor based automatic sanitizer dispenser,contactless body temperature measuring system,facility for the collection of used plates, bottles, masks etc. from the patients into its UV chamber, facilitate video interacting and communication with patients through the IP camera and microphone.

Ø“Solid State Automatic Signalling System”:It is modern Micro controller based automatic signaling system.It will make faster installlation of  automatic signalling system & improve the reliability.

Ø“Siemens EI system installation in Training Centre”:  will facilitate the hands o­n training o­n the latest Electronic Interlocking.

Ø“Online Examination”:It will enable the conducting of mandatory examination of safety courses even in the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic without physical presence of the candidates.

Ø“High availability Short-haul Circuit with SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) in Salem-Omalur section & Implementation of IP/MPLS(Internet Protocol/ Multiprotocol Label Switching) in Arakkonam-Tiruttani Section: It will improve the reliability of the of the communication system in Salem-Omalur section with improved protection.

Ø“Adoption of Blown Fibre Technology” It will improve performance of the optical fibre communication & will reduce installation cost..

The inaugural programme was followed by an International Seminar o­n “Challenges and Solutions inadopting emerging Technologies in Railway Signaling& Telecommunications” under the aegis of IRSTE (Institute of Railway Signal & Telecommunication) Southern Railway chaptertoday. The webinar was webcast live o­n the internet for the benefit of a wider audience.

Shri Pradeep Kumar/Member S&T/Railway Board participated in the webinar and addressed the virtual gathering from New Delhi. It covered all aspects of Signalling &Telecommunication subjects which are trending in the present scenario. He also shared that Railways has decided to use indigenous technologies as far as possible. He also mentioned as to how TCAS (Train Collision & Avoidance System) will make the journeys of passenger more safe. He also shared the information that Indian Railways has decided to go ahead with the installation of ETCS(European Train Control System) level -2 o­n the prototype sections.

Shri John Thomas, General Manager/Southern Railway participated in the Webinar and addressed the virtual gathering. Speaking o­n the occasion he lauded the Signal and Telecommunications Dept for the good work done by the Dept. He praised Railway Hospital ,Perambur for the excellent works being done by Doctors & Paramedical Staffs in treating Covid-19 patients. He was happy that Rail-Mitra Robot will help these Covid-19 warriors to keep themselves safe & healthy.

In his welcome address Shri R.Baskaran, Principal Chief Signal & Telecommunication Engineer said that he was happy that S&T workshop/Podanur could complete the production of Rail-Mitra Robot and Solid State Automatic Signalling system design in a record time of two months.He further brought out the salient features & the advantages of the new technologies which were inaugurated today.He stated that process of such innovations will continue further.

The webinar covered all the aspects of Signalling & Telecommunicationtechnologies. The subjects covered in the webinar were:-

·Indigenous Cab Signalling ATP System-TCAS”  by Shri. Lalit Mansukhani, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Madurai,

·Way forward for implementing Traffic Management System / Centralised Traffic Control in Chennai Division” by Shri.D. Sunil, Chief Signal Engineer-II, S Rly

·Multi-section Digital Axle Counter” with inbuilt multiplexer – Benefits for AutoSignaling Application” by Shri. Rajganesh, Manager/R&D, M/s.GGTronics,

·“Importance and Criticality of o­n-Board Long Term Evolution (LTE) Modem” by Shri. David Rothbaum, M/s. Ericsson AB.    

·Implementation of IP-MPLS (IP Multi Protocol Label Switching)  based network over Southern Railway” by Shri.S.Selvadurai, Chief Communication Engineer/ S Rly

·Blown fibre technology” by Shri.Bill, Director, UK & Shri.Santosh Natarajan, M/s.Hayle Communications, Coimbatore, Coimbatore.

·Strategies for a robust, secure and manageable IoT (Internet of Things)  implementation for Predictive maintenance of Railway Signaling& Telecommunication Systems” by Shri.Take Aanstoot, Chief Technology officer, Modio AB, Sweden    

·“RailMitra” by Shri. P.V. Murali Krishna, Chief Workshop Manager, Podanur S&T Workshop

·“Solid state Automatic Signalling system” by Shri. P.V. Murali Krishna, Chief Workshop Manager, Podanur S&T Workshop & Shri. G. Gowrishankar, Head R&D Electronics, Vasantha Advance Systems, Coimbatore

·“Online Examination Module in Training centre/Podanur”  by Shri. P.V. Murali Krishna, Chief Workshop Manager, Podanur S&T Workshop & Shri. Yeshwanth Balakrishnan, Founder PAPERZ, Coimbatore

B. Guganesan

Chief Public Relations Officer

Shri R.Baskaran has taken over as the new Principal Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer of Southern Railway today vice Shri SK Goel who has been promoted and posted as Director General, Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications, Secunderabad.

Prior to his posting o­n Southern Railway, Shri R.Baskaran was Principal Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer of South Western Railway.

After his graduation from in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University, he joined  the Signal & Telecom Department of Indian Railways through UPSC examination (IES of 1984 exam) in 1986 and has worked in various capacities in Indian Railways in various zones including that of Group General Manager/ Chennai of RailTel Corporation of India Ltd and as Chief Workshop Manager of the Signal and Telecommunication workshop at Podanur.