"In fact, it is this country's first amalgamated center whose facilities enable it to urgently notify the Federal Transport Monitoring Service about emergencies, detect accidents, and make warnings when an accident is impending," said Alexander Neradko, Federal Transport Monitoring Service chief. He was addressing a public introduction of the United Transport Control Service in Moscow today.
"The United Transport Control Service has for a first-ever time brought together monitoring bases for every transport-maritime, air, railway and automotive," pointed out Vladimir Chertok, second in charge of the Federal Transport Monitoring Service safety board.
Communication satellites will broadcast visual information from accident sites to control center displays, and enable experts to make decisions in the real-time regimen. The service is currently supplying countrywide portable kits, which allow video transmission from the site at 128 kilobits a second, said Mr. Chertok.
Newsmen saw control facilities going on duty all over Russia today to monitor endangered areas. Doing watch duty today were 74 rescue helicopters and twenty other aircraft. Center displays allow seeing aircraft in flight, and particular ships and trains en route.
"We are to know just where any aircraft, train, any of its cars, and whatever ship is on a particular instant. That is our strategic goal," said Mr. Neradko.
Regrettably, he warned, Russia has not yet introduced unified standards for aircraft emergency beacons. Meanwhile, every craft has a beacon of the outdated KOSPAS-SARSAT system. True, certain airlines have installed cutting-edge beacons at their own expense. 58 craft are now getting such devices. Business aviation planes and helicopters make a majority of these. The new equipment includes an improved automated radio beacon, and allows gauging a great many parameters. One complete set costs $4,500, added Alexander Neradko.
