Why are aluminum boxes kept on the side of railway tracks? What comes in handy?

pc; Aaj Tak

Lakhs of people across the country travel by train. At such a time, the safety of passengers is paramount for the Railways. Railways make various arrangements to prevent accidents and to get information about accidents. There should be no laxity in the security system. Train wheels, tracks, and other items are specially made. Various safety and monitoring equipment has also been installed inside the train, on the tracks, and along the track. You must have also seen aluminum cans kept on the side of railway tracks. Many people would consider these boxes as electrical boxes. But this is not the power box. You will be surprised to know that this aluminum box, called the axle counter box, not only counts the number of train coaches but also tells the direction and speed of the train.

This box fitted for safety is very beneficial in preventing accidents. This box is installed every three to five kilometers. A storage device is fitted in this box, which is directly connected to the railway track. Each time a train passes, boxes along the tracks count the train's axles, which can tell whether the train has the same number of axles as it left the station.

pc: The Begusarai

A red signal is given as soon as the coach leaves.

The axle counter box is connected to the wire on the track. When the train leaves there, he measures the axle (the rod that holds the two wheels together). Due to this, it is calculated whether this car has the same number of wheels after 5 km as it had before 5 km. If by accident the rear coaches of the train get separated from the main train, this information is passed on to the next coach. As soon as the next coach receives this information, the signal turns red and the train stops. Along with this, this box also informs the nearest railway station about the missing coaches of the train.

Easy to check

If some coaches of the train get left behind then with the help of an axle counter box it becomes easy to find out where they got separated. It helps to find and check them. The axle counter box also records the speed of the train and the direction of the train.