Cockroach, ACD and Indian Railways

Of late I have started watching old Vithalacharya movies ( 40-50 years old), telling stories of cruel wizards kidnapping beautiful princess and then a brave prince rescuing after a fight over two hours after realising I am after all expected to live like a simple cockroach and attempt no serious heroics. Without any opinion from my side the various stages verifiable by records of railways, let me narrate the story of ACD.Only matters of fact I would list below, how ACD arrived in railways and seems to be creating needless problems to the Ministry.
1. March 1999- A single page concept paper I sent to Board while grieving hundreds of lives lost in quick succession on railway collisions and level crossing collisions.

2. Shri SM Vaish (Member Khanna Safety Commission) said spend some money and demonstrate a prototype.

3. First prototype demonstrated to Shri VK Agarwal CRB on 15th Oct 1999.

4. First filed runs demonstrated to Members Khanna Safety Commission, Expert team from RDSOcomprising of Mech, Signal etc departments Dec 1999.in Goa.

5.First ride of Minister of Railway Mamata Banerjee on lcocs fitted with devices, and physical demonstration of how trains stop Dec/Jan 1999/2000.

6. Data collection over three months on deviation count theory at Goa to satisfy RDSO Jan - April 2000.

7. Intense debates and fights in Board Jan to March and Minister including the ACD project at Rs 50 cr for implementation on NF Railway Feb 2000.

8. RDSO clears the specifications and lays down all the requirements, combined Board /RDSO/KR sign off on Jalandhar-Amritsar field trials.

9. I am not remembering the exact dates but by 2001-2002 trial results, jointly monitored by RDSO and NR RLy met the requirements as announced by Railway Board and cleared for wide scale implementation on NF Railway as already sanctioned in year 2000.

10. RDSO laid down the norms for success and a high level team of Railway Board monitored the trials of NF Railway over 1500 km.

11. I retired in Jan 2005. The implementation was going on in 2004 when I left. But by that time I had completed implementation on Konkan Railway and also widely used the system to protect Konkan Railway trains against collision with rock falls too. All this was done under the Railway Board sanctions and clearances.

12 In Dec 2003 the 150 kmph test train load of 6 coaches, GM locomotive, Konkan Railway ran using the ACDs to give cab signals covering distance from Margaon to Roha( Konkan Railway portion at average speed of 145 km. CRS and RDSO osccillograph team on Board. But for the support of Shri Dasarathy and Shri RK Singh and the CRB I could not have done this. Yes, I rode up front in the loco.

13.Parliament was advised at every stage of Jalandhar trials as well as NF Railway trials that the system works satisfactorily. Annual budget speeches of the Ministry specially mentioned the success of ACD starting from 2003. It was included in the Corporate Safety Plan of Indian Railways. ACD rights belonged to Indian Railways--not to inventor.

14. Since I was out of railway when the final clearance for ACD was to be given post NF tests I can only go by independent reports of RDSO and the Lloyds(UK) as well as GM's summary reports. All the laid dowm expectations and parameters needed to be satisfied were reported as met. The GM ( a very respected Mechanical Officer of impeccable integrity) wrote also a detailed letter approving the ACD , addressing the Railway Board. Lloyds independent verification report also confirmed and the RDSO also had to reluctantly sign the all the fact sheets meeting the requirements as prescribed norms as having met, satisfactorily. After this ACD was to be extended all over the railways. (Year 2005-2006.)

15. Then Lalu Ji ordered an inquiry in 2005, as to how the ACD developmet was done from 1999 and to fix responsibility for wrong doing. The high level inquiry report with even Members of Board required to make their detailed remarks, post my retirement, fortunately exonerated me and it was established that Ministry only cleared every step.And nothing was done under the table.

16. With a sigh of relief, I have resumed my role of being a simple cockroach and now watch B Vitthalacharya movies and enjoying myself in the safe imaginary world.

But still tears I do shed when I see lives lost and passengers with broken limbs in railway collisions. Dead are lucky. No need to ride the train again. But their dependents and the persons who lost limbs suffer for life, and then shudder every time to board the train. I cry for them.

I believe the Railway Board is wiser than a mere mortal like me.

The august Railways must be having reasons to keep thinking whether they should implement ACD or not after decade of dealing with the system and telling the Parliament annually over a decade, that ACD trials were successful and would be implemented all over railways.

Mean time I have only tears and fears, scurrying around like a cockroach with that unmatched survival instinct.

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