Chennai, December 21, 2016: The Indian Railways on Wednesday launched a Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) provided by French firm Thales on the 68-km-long Basin Bridge-Arakkonam section in southern India, said a Thales official.

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The TPWS-equipped section was inaugurated by Akhil Agrawal, Director General (Signal & Telecommunication), Railway Board, at Ambattur station, Chennai, a press release from the company said.

Global technology major Thales' European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 1 solution is known in India as TPWS.

In September 2014, Southern Railway had awarded this signalling contract to Thales.

As part of the contract, Thales supplied ETCS Level 1 solution and was also responsible for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of track-side equipment, the release added.

With the completion of this project, Thales brings to India the advanced signalling system that has been deployed in Europe.

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Raviprakash Karcherla, Director in Charge of Ground Transportation for Thales in India, said: "As passenger safety and train security are of utmost importance, we are proud to have brought the advanced and capable train protection system to India's railway networks through this project.

"We look forward to further supporting the Indian Railways in its ongoing modernisation plan and contribute to the development of railway infrastructure in the country."

Karcherla was further quoted as saying: "This project is intended at optimising train security and passenger safety while enabling trains to run faster, leading to shorter travel times and increased line capacity through the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) capability."

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Thales is one of the principal suppliers of train signalling technology and the worldwide leader in the supply of ETCS solutions with 16,000 km of ETCS line or 30 per cent of the global market share. (IANS)