MOTHER NATURE June 2017 | Page 30

30 2017 what is new ? KOCHI METRO APPOINTS TRANSGENDERS Kochi Metro will employ 23 members from the transgender community. This is the first time a government owned company has formally appointed members of the transgender community. These 23 workers will be a part of the 530 Kudumbasree workers to be employed at 11 stations in the Kochi Metro. While the better educated workers would be posted at ticket counters, the rest will be deputed for housekeeping works, customer relations, parking, gardening and to man the coach-depot canteen. All of the workers have been appointed after written test and interview and have been imparted training in soft and technical skills. Kochi Metro Kochi Metro is an under-construction metro system to cater to the needs of Kochi in Kerala. The first phase of the metro project covering a 13.4 km distance from Aluva to Palarivattom is set to become opera- tional soon. A second 5km section of the line from Palarivattom up to Maharaja’s College will be made operational after that. INDIAN RAILWAYS TO RUN TRAINS WITH OUT GUARDS The Indian Railways has planned to ac- quire the End of Train Telemetry (EoTT) equipments to run nearly 1,000 trains without guards in the current fiscal. The EoTT system is de- signed in such a way that it will perform the guard’s job. EoTT each other. The transmitter will send signals at regular intervals to the last coach to system comprises two units, namely, ensure that the train is running intact. The Indian Railways will initially acquire 1,000 EoTT equipments for its container operations and later on more units will be pro- ‘cab display unit’ (CDU) which is fitted cured to be fitted on all trains. Accordingly, all goods trains on the proposed dedi- cated freight corridors will run with EoTT system. Each set of EoTT device will cost on the locomotive and ‘sense and brake unit’ approximately Rs 10 lakh. The EoTT system will help in establishing communication between the locomotive (SBU) which is fitted on the last coach of driver and the last wagon of the train and ensure that the train is running as a com- plete unit. In case of parting of coaches from the rear side of the tr