Indian Railways Successfully Pilot‑Tested Direct Drive Electronic Interlocking (DDEI) System to Prevent Accidents.
National
Indian Railways completed pilot tests of the advanced Direct Drive Electronic Interlocking (DDEI) system at Dinanagar (Jammu) and Tajpur (Ratlam division, Madhya Pradesh). The system promises to significantly reduce signaling failures and human error, helping avert tragedies like the Balasore rail accident that claimed nearly 300 lives.
- The DDEI system eliminates conventional relays by directly interfacing with signals, tracks, and point mechanisms. This reduces failure points, simplifies maintenance, and lowers dependency on extensive copper wiring, thereby boosting reliability in critical signaling infrastructure.
- Commissioned initially at Tajpur station in November 2024, the pilot was implemented on Western Railway’s Ratlam division. Supported by technical training from Japanese firm TSTS, the system enables faster operations, enhanced safety, and seamless integration with Automatic Train Protection systems like Kavach.
- Western Railway became the first zone to adopt this Japanese-origin technology. Optical fiber cables replace nearly 60–70% of traditional wiring and reduce the number of relays by about 70%, cutting maintenance costs and minimizing human error in signal handling.
Main Point :- (i) The DDEI system is fully compatible with Kavach, India’s indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. This integration will enable coordinated signaling and emergency braking when required, improving the overall safety envelope of train operation.
(ii) Following successful tests at Tajpur and Dinanagar, Indian Railways plans to scale the DDEI roll-out to other high-density and high-risk routes. The pilot implementation offers a model for progressive modernization across zones, with expected benefits in punctuality and accident prevention.
(iii) This development complements ongoing expansion of the Kavach system—approved as India’s national ATP and certified at the highest Safety Integrity Level (SIL‑4)—which has already been deployed across thousands of kilometers of track to prevent collisions and signal-passing errors.
About Indian Railways (IR)
Minister : Ashwini Vaishnaw
Headquarters: New Delhi
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