Minister of Transportation on Deadly Train Crash: Signalization Not Indispensable

* Photograph: Volkan Furuncu - Ankara/AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Cahit Turhan has said that the signalization systems which are used in railways are "not indispensable", regarding yesterday's (December 13) collision which claimed nine lives.

Having stated that they established the signalization system as a supplementary security measure, Turhan has said the following:

"There is no such thing as 'railways cannot be run without this system.' I am submitting this for your information.

"Those who say 'The collision happened because of the lack of signalization' after the incident are not evaluating the incident correctly."

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How was the signalization issue covered on media?

After the collision, former Secretary General of the United Union of Transportation İshak Kocabıyık told bianet that on the line where incident took place, the signalization was not fully functioning.

Kocabıyık also said that contrary to what the Minister stated, it was the high speed train that was on the wrong rail, not the guiding locomotive.

Chair of the United Union of Transportation Hasan Bektaş also told that the high speed train line was opened without a signalization system, in an interview with the BBC Turkish service.

Stating that a lack of signalization does not necessarily mean that there will be accidents, "Bu if you open a line which is required to have signalization without installing the system, you multiply the risk of an accident by seven or eight" Bektaş said.

Also among the 18 daily newspapers we reviewed today, eight of them underpinned the problem of signalization: Hürriyet, Cumhuriyet, Evrensel, Milliyet, Yeni Yaşam, Karar, Sabah and Takvim.

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What is the signalization system?

Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) is a system that establishes instant and continuous communication between the train and the center. By that, it can determine the exact location of and remotely control the train better and quicker than traditional signalization systems.

CTBC creates a virtual signal block both in front of and behind the car. This block moves and stops with the train. If and when the virtual blocks of two trains going back to back begins to overlap, the system intervenes. If the train at the back is faster, the system slows it down. If the train at the front stops, the system stops the train at the back in a safe distance.

* Source: demiryolcuyuz.biz

(EKN/VK)