India is aiming to achieve new milestones in manufacturing with its first bullet train project. After deciding to manufacture the high-speed train indigenously for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor, Indian Railways is now looking at in-house advanced signalling system for other upcoming corridors.Indian Railways is developing an indigenous signalling protocol for high-speed rail called the Bharat Train Control System (BTCS). The system is being designed specifically for Indian operating conditions and aims to eliminate dependence on foreign signalling protocols for the nearly 7,000 km of new bullet train corridors planned across the country.Earlier this month, former Japanese minister Hideki Makihara criticised India for not exclusively adopting Japanese technology for the MAHSR project, pointing to its decision to use open-source signalling protocols instead of Japan’s Digital Automatic Train Control system.Responding to these concerns, officials said trains supplied by Japan’s Hitachi are compatible with ETCS, but added that “offers from them (Japan) need to come first”.Also Read | Why India making its own bullet trains is a big deal – explainedThe official further said India is also “open to allowing switchover to Japanese protocols once suppliers place appropriate proposals”.
India’s indigenous signalling system for bullet trains
Officials told ET that approvals for the designs and route alignments of future high-speed rail corridors are expected to be completed by mid-2027.“India will develop its own control protocols for high-speed rail,” a senior official told the financial daily, adding that the new system will build on the experience gained from the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, where the European Train Control System (ETCS) is currently being deployed.“The Bharat Train Control System will be open-source, cost-effective and can be tailored to requirements of rapid and safe deployment across the country,” the official said, adding that once developed, the technology could also be offered to other countries.The official added that introducing an indigenous high-speed rail signalling protocol would provide a significant boost to domestic railway design companies and equipment manufacturers.
7 High-Speed Rail Corridors Planned
In June last year, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) awarded a Rs 4,100 crore contract for the signalling system on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor to a consortium comprising India’s Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd and Germany’s Siemens. The consortium is deploying an ETCS Level 2-based signalling system capable of supporting train operations at speeds of up to 350 kmph.The Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail Corridor, which currently operates India’s fastest train, is also equipped with ETCS Level 2 signalling, supplied and implemented by France’s Alstom.According to industry observers, the decision to adopt ETCS Level 2 for the Japan-backed MAHSR project enabled a broader pool of equipment suppliers to participate.
