Eastern Railway has successfully commissioned the Bhagawangola station under the Sealdah (SDAH) division with a retrofitted Electronic Interlocking (EI) system. The project was successfully brought into service at 11:59 hrs on July 5, 2026.
The work achieved a seamless migration from the older GE-make EI system to the advanced, state-of-the-art SIEMENS (MK-II) Make EI. A standout feature of this project was its execution within the existing framework, causing minimal disruption to regular train movements.
The upgrade retains all existing field gears—such as signals, points, track circuits, location boxes, and the cable network—which were meticulously tested for parameters like continuity, insulation, and core verification before being completely integrated into the new Siemens platform.
As part of the comprehensive Signal & Telecommunication works, the project also marked the official closure of Level Crossing (LC) Gate No. 165. To accommodate this, the existing Down (DN) Gate stop signal and Gate distant signal were dismantled, and a brand-new Down distant signal was installed. Extensive technical enhancements were carried out indoors, including data preparation, circuit modification, logic configuration, indoor wiring modification, termination, and interfacing with field circuits.
The upgraded station setup successfully commissioned Main Signal 6 and Dummy Signal 1 through the new system. A total of 14 routes were thoroughly tested and validated, while 3 points (powered by 6 Point Machines) were fully proved. For heightened safety, a new Efftronics-make Datalogger and a modern Notofire-make Fire Alarm system were introduced.
All Main, Shunt, and Calling-on signals were tested under strict parameters. Before the final hand-over, extensive simulations, correspondence tests, and fail-safe checks were carried out alongside joint testing with the Operating department to ensure smooth functionality.
