Push-pull mode of locomotive power to eliminate banker in ghat sections
| Date :22-May-2019 |
By Sagar Mohod:
System of stoppages of passenger trains in ghat section for attaching Bankers could soon be a thing of past as Indian Railways is switching over to push-pull technology mode. Besides attachment of locomotives to either end of trains would eliminate need for reversal of engines at terminating stations. The technology is similar to Multiple Electric Mainline Units (MEMU) whose rakes have cabs on either end that saves time and manpower. Herein controls of locomotive attached at fag end of the train and its controls are taken over by crew who piloting the train through front loco.
The push-pull mode is currently introduced over Central Railway and hauling CSMT-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and soon to be introduced for Deecan Queen, the inter-city train on Mumbai-Pune route. Enthused by the results, now Indian Railways has decided to run all long distance trains with push-pull mode in times of come. First priority is for trains that have to criss-cross ghat sections, that is known for their treacherous path and hence the push-pull would provide more safety and also speed up the movement. The technology for use in Indian locomotives was devised by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CIRS).
The IT engineers have designed the software to make it compatible with current lot of locomotives with Indian Railways. Push-pull was in use in western countries for long but that technology did not suit locomotives used by Indian Railways. For this they needed to be tweaked and made suitable and hence it took quite a time for CIRS to device such software, stated Additional Divisional Electrical Engineer (ADEE), Ajni Electric Loco Shed, Ravi Mohan Srivastav. Bankers are attached to trains in ghat section to provide extra thrust for faster acceleration.
This is so as engines have to negotiate steep gradient that requires maximum power that is provided by engine attached at end of the passenger rakes. The system of push-pull entails combining two locomotives that provides additional thrust for faster acceleration for long distance trains wherein Railways is looking to curtail running time. New mode of technology comes in handy as the push-pull would eliminate need to stop and attach banker to provide additional power for negotiating the steep climb, said Additional Divisional Electrical Engineer (ADEE), Electric Loco Shed, Srivastav explained further. Nearly four minutes of time is required for attaching Banker and this is quite a saving if push-pull eliminates its need plus additional thrust ensures faster movement. Further in case the Mail/Express train has regular stoppages and for parcel at 15 stations on Nagpur-Mumbai section the extra acceleration with new technology would result in savings of nearly 1/2 a minute of time.
Savings of 15 to 20 minutes in ghat section and equal time on the run could ensure creation of additional capacity, he added further. Either the available extra time can be utilised for running extra train or for additional maintenance of tracks. On short distance run, the saving is of nearly two minutes to five minutes while on long routes the slashing of time is immense and provides new hope for decongestion of existing track network. This is due to shorter time required to accelerate from zero to 120 km/hr due to combining power of two locomotives.
New mode to affect jobs of shunters A direct fallout of push-pull would be felt by the employees as it would eliminate jobs of Shunter over Indian Railways. They mostly are deployed during shunting of engines when they are attached to rakes. Shunting is quite a risky job as a slightest mistake has resulted in numerous deaths on the track. But elimination of Shunters post that falls under Mechanical Branch would mean Electrical Branch would take over entire work load relating to locomotives leaving no room for intervention of former, quipped an old timer in Indian Railways.