Keeping in mind the large number of mishaps at unmanned railway crossings, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) has developed a special warning device for such situations.

The device receives signals from the oncoming train from a distance of 2 km — using a system called Satellite Imaging for Rail Navigation (Simran). It sets off a hooter and an LED display that shows the exact distance of the approaching train from the crossing.

Sanjay Govind Dhande, IIT-K Director, said on Tuesday that the device has been successfully tried in the institute laboratory. “We had completed the Simran project on September 31. This device was an extension of Simran. Till the time Simran is approved by the Ministry of Railways, we cannot experiment with our device at unmanned railway crossings,” he added. An IIT-K team, led by Dhande and Principal Software Engineer B M Shukla, had developed the device.

Shukla said, “The basic purpose of the project is to inform people about the right time to cross an unmanned crossing. In the dark and in heavy fog in winters, people at unmanned crossings often fail to spot an approaching train.”

He added the future of the warning device was linked to the Ministry of Railways’ decision on Simran because “the system will work only in trains equipped with Simran”.

The IIT-K has developed Simran in association with the Lucknow-based Railway Design and Standard Organisation. The Railways is conducting trial runs in several trains, including Rajdhani Express (Mumbai, Howrah, Patna), Shatabdi Express (Bhopal, Amritsar, Lucknow), Duranto Express (New Delhi-Sealdah), Gomti Express (Lucknow-New Delhi) and Puspak Express (Lucknow-Mumbai).

Simran, which uses a satellite imaging software along with the global positioning system, was developed as part of the Railway Safety Technology Mission to provide correct train information to passengers. It took five years to develop the system.

According to the IIT-K director, Simran has been successfully tested in some of the important trains, and “we are optimistic that the Ministry would soon approve it”.