Railway signals: Blame game begins

KOCHI: Railway officials complain that the new technology traffic signals, set up by the railway at the re-routing areas in Thiruvananthapuram Division, are not  functioning properly.To make matters worse, the railway officials are putting the blame on the companies which are setting up the LED traffic signal lights. Assistant Divisional Signaling and Telecommunications Engineer S Gopuswamy said: “The trend that we see is that the quality of the lights being given by the companies are not very good. There have been defaults and complaints just after a few months the LED signals were put in place. But whenever  we come across a complaint, the light is procured and replaced by the railways.”But, the railway staff members say that the fault lies with the railways, and not with the company. “Most of the LED lights that were set up last year were in good condition. It is only after an year that the complaints are occurring. But whenever we approach the railway officials, asking them replace the LED lights they say that the material is not available”, a railway official said.The members of the union said that the railway authorities make it sound as if the responsibility lies entirely with the unions. “They ask us to go on dharnas, like we usually do, to meet the demand in deficiency of LED lights ."However, engineers and technicians of the railway say that the railway officials are failing to realise the benefits the LED light systems have over incandescent lamps, that had been used in the railways. “This light enables the drivers to see the signals from at least 200 to 600 metres. During rains, it is extremely beneficial for the drivers who would otherwise have to strain to see the light."