Indian Railways to develop master clock system

Source- This post on Indian Railways to develop master clock system has been created based on the article “In a first, Indian Railways to develop master clock system” published in “The Hindu” on 19 August 2024.

Why in News?

Indian Railways is introducing a master clock system to synchronise time across all its applications and systems. A prototype of this system will be demonstrated by October 2.

What is Current System?

1. Currently, stationmasters manually set the time based on section controllers’ instructions.

2. Different Zonal Railways use various time sources, leading to inconsistencies.

Development of the Master Clock System

1. The Railway Board has formed a committee to work with the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) to develop the system.

2. The master clock system will use time from reliable sources like NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) or the National Physical Laboratories.

3. The Director for Telecommunications of the Railway Board is leading the development.

4. The committee will finalise the design, ensuring it works seamlessly across all Zonal Railways, production units, workshops, and data centres.

Why is there need for Synchronisation?

1. Time discrepancies between stationmasters, crew, data loggers, and locomotive systems create confusion during accident investigations.

2. Uniform time synchronisation is crucial for efficient train operations, management, and accurate post-accident analysis.

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