The Railway Board has cleared Rs. 12,000 crore proposal to equip 6,000 electric locos with European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2. It is a radio-based system which continuously sends data of the train to the Radio Block Centre (RBC) to report its exact position and direction. The system is installed to help drivers prevent rail mishaps.
The board has decided to install the ETCS Level 2 system on the entire 9,054 km long Golden Quadrilateral route, which connects Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata making it an entirely accident-free corridor. The system ensures that the status of the signal ahead is made available through a wireless radio medium using a GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communication-Railways) network.
Currently, the railways operates on a basic automatic train protection system based on the ETCS Level 1 specification. It provides backup to loco pilots on a limited stretch. The disadvantage of the ETCS Level 1 can be prevailed over in ETCS Level 2.
