New Delhi, NFAPost: Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) commissioned the first prototype model of the indigenously developed Rolling Stock Driver Training System (RSDTS) named i-UDTS and, digital control unit Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
According to a press release, BEL said in pursuance of the government of India’s Make in India policy, DMRC and BEL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last year to jointly develop a ‘Rolling Stock Driver Training System (RSDTS)’, which will be useful for training drivers of metro/ railway trains.
The system was inaugurated by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra at a ceremony held in BEL’s Ghaziabad Unit on Monday. i-UDTS is designed as a Line Independent System, easily configurable and scalable for any current and future lines to meet the city metro requirements.
DMRC Managing Director Dr Mangu Singh, BEL Director (R&D) M V Rajasekhar, other Directors and senior officers of DMRC and BEL were present at the inaugural function.
Universal Driver Training Simulator for Rolling Stock (i-UDTS) system will be useful for training metro and railway train drivers and also evaluating the driving skills of a working Train Operator, usually done periodically for safety considerations. This will be the first indigenously developed universal train driving simulator that can be suitably modified for any metro system or railways.
So far, DMRC has been importing this product from foreign OEMs, at a high cost. Also, the designs available with DMRC are suitable for use with a single type of rolling stock, signaling and track systems. It is extremely difficult and costly to make any changes at a later date.
The i-UDTS being developed by BEL for DMRC has the provision for the same core software to be utilized for creating different combinations of rolling stock, signaling and line profiles, by merely changing the input data files, along with minor hardware changes in the driving desk, if required. This will enhance the flexibility of the training system and would result in major cost savings for DMRC, as the same system can be used for multiple stocks and different routes.
The training system being developed will have far superior features than those available today. This will be used in all metro rails of India and has export potential as well.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) is a computer-based system for gathering and analysing real-time data to monitor and control equipment that deals with critical and time-sensitive materials or events. In DMRC the application of SCADA is mainly to avoid accidents.
DMRC has an ambitious plan to go digital for its maintenance needs and here also SCADA can be used. At present, several such standalone solutions are available at the equipment and system level. DMRC desires to integrate all of them through a digital platform, as well as develop condition-based monitoring systems for equipment and assets to rationalize the maintenance periodicity, manpower requirement and spare management.
This will result in high uptime of the systems and low maintenance cost. With this aim, DMRC signed a MoU with BEL in June 2021 for the indigenous development of Super SCADA.
A decision support system for various levels of management is being developed besides transition towards predictive maintenance regime from the conventional periodic maintenance regime using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. At present, three systems, namely Automatic Fare Collection, Lifts &Escalators and Wheel monitoring system of rolling stock have been covered in Phase-1 of the development.
