Title - Scope for railway workshop to be major industrial spot

COIMBATORE: Signal and Telecommunication workshop of southern railway which functions near the city can produce equipment for railways across the country, said S Manohar, chief signal and telecommunication engineer ( CSTE) of southern railway, Chennai. He was speaking as the chief guest at the railway week celebrations held at the railway community centre in Podanur on Wednesday.

He said that the workshop in recent years has been able to produce equipment for not just southern railways but also for the country. "The workshop can become a major industrial spot in the city," Manohar added.

Navita Singh, chief workshop manager said the workshop has increased the production than before. The total production of the workshop has increased from Rs49.69 crores in 2011-12 to Rs 60.53 crores in 2012-13. Many of these included specialised machinery for the railways department. Relays, point machines, emergency sliding booms all needed for the railways are supplied all over the country. The 'point machines' made by the workshop met 60 -70 per cent of the requirement of Indian railways. Higher capacity dies have been inducted for manufacturing of relay components, utilisation of CNC machines has been optimised by deploying better tools and improved software.

Some of the equipment supplied to southern railways, has helped to deal with train detentions. "Many of the specific machinery at the level-crossing gates were malfunctioning and needed replacement. We were able to supply for many of the level-crossing gates the required machinery which has helped the smooth running of trains," she said.

Navita said that production will be increased in the coming years. Innovative products which will be a solution to many of the pressing problems affecting the railway are in the making, she said.