Operations of Traction Power Controller (TPC):

It is provided to have a comprehensive picture of supply conditions and arrangement to operate switchgear with minimum delay so that continuity of electric supply to the track, which is of vital importance, can be maintained. Incharge of remote control centre, known as traction power controller (TPC), looks after it all the 24 hours and is directly responsible for carrying out all the switching operations on the electric supply system.

Each remote control centre is connected to grid substations, feeding posts, sectioning and subsectioning posts, station master offices, important signalling cabins, divisional office and traffic controller office. It controls all the interruptors provided at different control posts and circuit breakers provided at different substations by remote control system that operates on transmission of voice frequency signals. This signalling system is accomplished by pilot wires with one pair for taking the operating signal and another for incoming indicating signalling. This is to avoid magnetically induced disturbance due to transient currents of switching operations.

A mimic diagram depicting diagrammatically the entire OHE system as well as different substations and control posts is provided at each remote control centre to provide actual visual position of supply system to traction power controller.

The mimic diagram is generally not lit up but whenever there is any change in the interruptor position at the switching post, corresponding point on the diagram gets illuminated and there is an alarm also to draw the TPC attention. The availability of the electrical supply to each and every section of OHE is monitored by the PTs at switching stations.

Thus entire electrical supply system remains under the control of TPC who is fully equipped with facilities for instantaneous control of any switching operation for quick isolation of the faulty sections and restoration of power supply to the adjoining healthy sections and also for the isolation of sections for maintenance work anywhere in the system that may extend up to 250 km in every direction of the centre.