echarcha
October 12th, 2001, 01:04 PM
An Indian Railways official has suggested that an anti-collision device ready for use on some special trains in the country could help prevent US-type terror attacks in future.
B Rajaram, chairman and managing director of the Konkan Railway Corporation, has written a letter to President George W Bush telling him that the anti-collision device developed by KRC, and priced around $ 20,000, could have prevented the September 11 attacks.
Suspected terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, killing over 6,000 people.
Speaking to reporters in Bombay on Friday, Rajaram said the anti-collision device, which is based on the global positioning system technology, is installed on select trains in the country and could be installed on aircraft and tall buildings with slight modifications.
"If this device had been installed on the aircraft and the WTC buildings, the planes would have on their own turned away despite the hijackers' attempts to crash them on the buildings," Rajaram said.
Rajaram said the ACD was developed in just two years and the first device-fitted train would run on October 15 on the Konkan section, adding that Indian Railways has decided to fit all trains and unmanned level crossings with the device to prevent mishaps.
The device consists of a command and control unit, based on microprocessor technology, which is fixed inside the train. It picks up signals from the global positioning satellites to decipher the exact movement of the locomotive like latitude, longitude, speed, in real time, he said.
A radio trans-receiver fitted into the train also sends and receives signals within a radio-range of 1.5 to 2 km, he said, adding should two trains come dangerously close to colliding the system will automatically get switched on, and it will slow down the train and finally bring it to a halt.
Rajaram said the system was designed to stop trains before collisions. Work on the device began in the wake of train accidents at Khanna and Ghaisal in Punjab and West Bengal, respectively in 1999.
Rajaram said the KRC has applied for patents on the device in more than 140 countries.
"The terrorist attacks in New York and the mishap at Milan airport where a passenger plane rammed into building could have been averted with this device," Rajaram said.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2001/oct/12device.htm
B Rajaram, chairman and managing director of the Konkan Railway Corporation, has written a letter to President George W Bush telling him that the anti-collision device developed by KRC, and priced around $ 20,000, could have prevented the September 11 attacks.
Suspected terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, killing over 6,000 people.
Speaking to reporters in Bombay on Friday, Rajaram said the anti-collision device, which is based on the global positioning system technology, is installed on select trains in the country and could be installed on aircraft and tall buildings with slight modifications.
"If this device had been installed on the aircraft and the WTC buildings, the planes would have on their own turned away despite the hijackers' attempts to crash them on the buildings," Rajaram said.
Rajaram said the ACD was developed in just two years and the first device-fitted train would run on October 15 on the Konkan section, adding that Indian Railways has decided to fit all trains and unmanned level crossings with the device to prevent mishaps.
The device consists of a command and control unit, based on microprocessor technology, which is fixed inside the train. It picks up signals from the global positioning satellites to decipher the exact movement of the locomotive like latitude, longitude, speed, in real time, he said.
A radio trans-receiver fitted into the train also sends and receives signals within a radio-range of 1.5 to 2 km, he said, adding should two trains come dangerously close to colliding the system will automatically get switched on, and it will slow down the train and finally bring it to a halt.
Rajaram said the system was designed to stop trains before collisions. Work on the device began in the wake of train accidents at Khanna and Ghaisal in Punjab and West Bengal, respectively in 1999.
Rajaram said the KRC has applied for patents on the device in more than 140 countries.
"The terrorist attacks in New York and the mishap at Milan airport where a passenger plane rammed into building could have been averted with this device," Rajaram said.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2001/oct/12device.htm