The project received the nod from the officials of the Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) who were present at the institute for the Concept Proving Test on Friday.

The Derailment Detection Device (DDD) developed by IIT-K is the first of its kind in the world and is suited for installation in freight as well as passenger trains.

“It has been witnessed in the past that once a train gets derailed, it takes a long time for the driver to apply brakes, which often results into causalities and train damage,” said Nalinaksh S Vyas, Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT-K.

The DDD consists of a Sensor Box equipped with Wireless Antenna and a Vibration Measurement System that is installed near the Bearing Box of a train wheel. Vyas said, “The Sensor Box measures the shock/vibration speed of train and transmits the signal to Actuator Box which is fitted close to the Brake Pipeline.” He added, “If the Sensor Box measures an extremely high shock/vibration speed it will transmit the signal to Actuator box.” After this, the Actuator Box will open the valve of Brake Cylinder and the pressure will be instantly released, and the brakes would be applied within three seconds.

Vyas said keeping in mind the variation in vibration speed of different trains, the Sensor Box has the ability to change the vibration/shock speed as per the quality of the train. “For each coach of the train, there will be a need of two Actuator Boxes and an equal number of Sensor Box,” claimed Vyas. A major highlight of the DDD is the low manufacturing cost of Sensor Box and Actuator Box. A Sensor Box can be manufactured at ban expense of Rs 1,000 and Actuator Box costs in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500.

M K Agarwal, Executive Director (Research) RDSO said after the successful Concept Proving Test (CPT), the DDD will have to undergo few more tests before getting the approval from the Ministry of Railways. After the CPT, the DDD will be taken to the RDSO where it will be experimented on a train engine connected with three bogies.