Thursday, August 17 2006 16:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: At least 12 projects, including Satellite Imaging of Rail Navigation (SIMRAN), have been approved under the Technology Mission set up to address safety-related issues of the Railways, Lok Sabha was informed today (Aug 17, 2006).

The Technical Mission for Railway Safety has been set up in collaboration with the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry represented by IIT Kanpur and industry partners, Minister of State for Railways R Velu said in reply to questions.

"The projects will be undertaken at an estimated cost of Rs 24 crore which will be shared by the HRD Ministry, Railways Ministry and industry in the ratio of 50:30:20 per cent respectively," he said.

"The projects include SIMRAN which will involve Global Positioning System based Rail Network Mapping and Train Tracking and wireless connectivity," the minister said.

Also included in the railway safety mission are projects for fog vision instrumentation, rail flaw detection instrumentation, derailment detector devices and corrosion prevention of rails.

Velu said the Railway Board had initially approved 14 safety projects at an estimated cost of Rs 26.5 crore but the list was later pruned after progress and scope of projects.

The 'Mission Management Manual' for the mission was jointly prepared by Research, Designs and Standards Organisation and IIT Kanpur, the minister said.