In a bid to facilitate direct movement of trains and to reduce detention time of trains, Western Railway took up the big task of remodelling Vadodara Yard and with this Centralised Electronic Interlocking has been commissioned. The project was termed as one of the “super critical projects” of the Indian Railways, since the yard lies just on the north of Vadodara on the extremely busy Delhi-Mumbai route.
The remodelled Vadodara Yard will help in segregating rail traffic of Ahmedabad and Ratlam sides. On 13th March, 2021, the non-interlocking work was successfully completed and Vadodara Yard electronic interlocking was commissioned. During the remodelling work, 3 signalled loop lines in UP direction were provided, which will help in train regulation and preference. Along with this, goods bypass lines 1 & 2 were made for passenger trains, which will be utilised to run passenger trains if required. The line capacity in the earlier super congested Vadodara area has now been increased, with this 8 Permanent Speed Restrictions were also removed. The merger of C and D cabins into centralised Electronic Interlocking will reduce the operation time and will save manpower. Besides this, 66 old points were removed & 32 new points were inserted. This will reduce frequent maintenance & renewal costs, along with reduction in failures. Two diamond points were also eliminated which will help in reducing maintenance and improve speed & security.
During the remodelling work, 325 km of new cables have been laid, 235 routes Electronic Interlocking commissioned, 35 mains signals and 35 shunt signals have been commissioned, 67 new point machines installed and 115 track circuits have been laid. Due to the remodelling, Accident Relief Train (ART) can now be directly dispatched from Vadodara Yard to Ratlam side. This was not possible earlier. The nomenclature of lines in the yard are now simplified, which makes coordination easier. A Centralised Operations Centre has also been commissioned which is constructed by NHSRCL on the pattern on Air Traffic Control and offers a 180 degree view of the yard.