O P I N I O N S

Guest Column
Through fog, it’s better late than never
A train speeding at 130 kpmh and not equipped with in-cab signalling in foggy weather, and hundreds of level crossings in its path, where the driver of a tractor-trailer presumes he has the right of way, is a recipe for disaster.
RC Acharya
Come winter and a sudden drop in the mercury brings with it not only a bout of respiratory ailments, but also the nation’s transport systems develop cold. A general slowdown due to a drastic reduction in visibility levels plays havoc with the airlines and train schedules.

Fifty Fifty
Delhi election as simple as ABC?
AAP had promised us change, but it looks like status quo if they too begin to seek support from those whom they thought they would destroy.
Kishwar Desai
Delhi threw up a split verdict, and there are many ways of reading it. But the important point is that no one got a majority. For the people of Delhi, the ABC of politics was ‘Anyone But Congress’.

ground zero
Three things to do to sort out Khobragade mess
It is apparent that Khobragade was wrong in making a false declaration to US authorities, but the treatment meted out to her was harsh and misplaced. The US and India need to move quickly and find a solution that upholds the dignity and law on both sides.
Raj Chengappa
Both India and the US are raucous democracies whose citizens openly vent their feelings and are prone to much chest-beating and fist-thumping. So when India’s Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade stationed at New York was subjected to a humiliating arrest and strip-searched for alleged visa fraud and labour violations against the Indian maid she hired for domestic chores it resulted in a blizzard of recriminations that threatened to put a freeze on the cordial relations between the world’s most powerful democracy and the largest.

EDITORIALS

Guest Column
Through fog, it’s better late than never
A train speeding at 130 kpmh and not equipped with in-cab signalling in foggy weather, and hundreds of level crossings in its path, where the driver of a tractor-trailer presumes he has the right of way, is a recipe for disaster.
RC Acharya

Come winter and a sudden drop in the mercury brings with it not only a bout of respiratory ailments, but also the nation’s transport systems develop cold. A general slowdown due to a drastic reduction in visibility levels plays havoc with the airlines and train schedules.

A train hurtling down the track at high speeds requires the driver to look out for signals — akin to road traffic lights — spaced along the track at appropriate intervals to prevent it from crashing into a train ahead.

Strict monitoring of speed has brought down train mishaps.

A 24-coach superfast train travelling at 130 kpmh needs no less than a kilometre while a freight train with a 4,500-tonne, 58-BOXN wagon coal load rolling along at just 80 kpmh will take 2 km to be brought to a grinding halt! Hence a string of signals and the need for an early warning system, with yellow aspect warning the driver of a red signal ahead and the need to slow down.

In case of poor visibility such as fog, standing instructions require him to drop the speed to 15 kmph, remaining ever alert to stop when he is approaching a signal. After a spate of train accidents in the foggy days of the winter of 2011-12, strict monitoring of speeds of trains, particularly the superfast variety, had eliminated all such cases of collision or other train mishaps in the winter of 2012-13.

Hopefully, this winter, too, strict adherence of the standing instructions and rigorous monitoring will ensure a safe environment of train travel, though at the cost of punctuality.

Over the years, European railways have developed a system to tackle this problem, with onboard cab signalling which relays the state of the signals miles ahead. Intercity trains in Europe run over various rail systems across national boundaries, for which a European Rail Traffic Management System has been developed. This consists of a European Train Control System (ETCS) — basically cab signalling and a GSM-R regime — for mobile communication built on the GSM platform.

Understandably, this landmark achievement does not come cheap, though it is ideal for new lines being built such as the western and eastern legs of the dedicated freight corridor. It saves the cost of setting up new line side signalling gear and other communication equipment needed for safe train operations.

Back home, the Delhi Metro has adopted ATO (Automatic Train Operation) and ATP (Automatic Train Protection) systems which ensure regulation of train speed to conform to the condition of the signal ahead, ensuring smooth working even during zero visibility.

Since foggy conditions mostly affect northern states, a system such as the ETCS could perhaps be introduced on railway zones such as northern, northwestern, east central, northeastern and north central, to name a few.

A rough estimate of implementing the basic, no-frills version of the ETCS on limited zones would be over Rs 10,000 crore, an investment that would undoubtedly impact passenger tariff. It would not be welcomed as passengers have already faced a substantial hike in fares in the recent past.

However, given the poor financial health of the nation’s economic lifeline — thanks to the populist policies of Railway Ministers over the last two decades — even such a limited exercise covering just five out of the 16 zones would take years to complete.

Unfortunately, the much-touted ACD (Anti-Collision Device) developed by the Konkan railways would not fit the bill as it only detects another train on the same track and warns the driver of an impending collision. It does not give any indication of the status of a signal ahead, which basically needs to be available in a train driver’s cab in order to overcome the handicap of poor visibility.

Fog normally descends in early hours of morning and major terminals in the north such as Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ludhiana are often seriously affected. In the Delhi zone alone, almost a dozen Rajdhanis reach in the wee hours, and its well-heeled and upwardly mobile middle-class passengers on board seldom lose an opportunity to vociferously demand a permanent solution to the problem.

Fortunately, the problem is transient with the average number of such foggy days impacting rail travel being only about 15 to 20 in a year. Moreover, a train may be delayed, but the passenger is sure of reaching his or her destination and not getting stuck in a different city as often happens to hapless airline passengers.

Lastly, a superfast train hurtling along at 130 kpmh and not equipped with in-cab signalling in foggy weather with almost zero visibility, and hundreds of level crossings in its path, where the driver of a tractor-trailer often presumes he has the right of way, is a sure recipe for disaster.

The writer is a former member of the Railway Board

Fifty Fifty
Delhi election as simple as ABC?
AAP had promised us change, but it looks like status quo if they too begin to seek support from those whom they thought they would destroy.
Kishwar Desai

Delhi threw up a split verdict, and there are many ways of reading it. But the important point is that no one got a majority. For the people of Delhi, the ABC of politics was ‘Anyone But Congress’.

The fight was bitter and vicious on all sides and the fact that all parties had wanted to win was obvious. But now for the Aam Aadmi Party to claim confusion over taking support from the Congress — whom they had threatened with exposure till yesterday — to form a government, frankly, sounds odd. After all, it was made very clear to everyone who voted for them that they were fighting from an anti-Congress plank. Where is the confusion then? In fact, it is the electorate who should be confused.

Arvind Kejriwal has tough choices to make.

If the Congress is the enemy, and AAP is going to reveal all their dark and dirty secrets, should they take their support? And moreover, after these alleged corruption charges against former Chief Minister Sheila Dixit are exposed, will the Congress support continue regardless? It is obvious that if this unlikely union does take place a lot of public money will be wasted by forming a government, as it will not be long before fresh elections are called. Whilst for many it might seem like a trivial sum of a few crores, is it really essential for us to go through a farcical and fallible process? In a country where millions of children go to bed hungry every night shouldn’t we conserve public funds? But then, if money has to be spent in the process of keeping the spirit of democracy alive, it is better to get a clear mandate (hopefully) and go for fresh elections rather than be subjected to needless tests of incompatibility.

For once, the BJP has shown wisdom by stepping aside and declaring that they would rather not enter into a contest where they would be in an unstable formation. Perhaps they have learnt their lesson that people don’t like wheeler-dealers, unlike the Congress that would still like to govern without worrying about the fact that they have been humiliatingly defeated.

Then, much like a girl faced with multiple suitors, AAP now says they would like a referendum on whether they should govern or not. Some of this ‘dharam sankat’ could be driven by a slight nervousness that they might not be able to rustle up the same interest, enthusiasm or even the donations that they did the last time.

The problem is that even referendums cannot be conducted — much though we would love the simplicity of it — on twitter, facebook or even through letters. We all know how easy it is to skew the verdict one way or the other; and while there are many who might want the newbies to get to power, there are probably more, going by the number of seats they won, who really did not want them in the first place.

The fact that they have also begun reminding people of their promises to cut electricity rates at this moment is probably no coincidence either. They probably feel they are getting a second chance at a mini-election, and once they get the resounding ‘yes’ from their supporters — which will undoubtedly come (for reasons given above) — they will feel obliged to go ahead.

But will they be taken seriously in the future if they make such a fundamental shift in their vision?

The fact that they are considering this major re-think means that AAP has to stop pretending it has won, despite not wanting power. While Ms Sonia Gandhi might advocate the idea that power (in politics) is poison let us not forget that there are plenty of low hanging fruit. For instance, perks galore all paid for by the Indian public: homes in the heart of Delhi, largesse to be spread, lavishly. There is also the ‘entitlement’ to rule that comes in the package deal, which seems to be affecting AAP as well. AAP had promised us change, but it looks like status quo if they too begin to seek support from those whom they thought they would destroy.

So, is AAP, like the others, essentially only seeking power? Because, as they will try to convince a cynical electorate, it is only through attaining power (in any way possible) that they can begin to deliver on some of the promises they have made. Even if they receive 20 lakh letters and 10 million messages (and manage to read them overnight), the fact will remain that Delhi is in danger of getting a government it did not ask for. And unless the referendum is carefully audited and each answer checked by an independent agency, the result will always be suspect, alas!