Indian Railways has collaborated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to expedite satellite-based mapping of all its railway assets and help increase the safety of train journeys for passengers.
The collaboration was revealed by the Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal as part of an announcement that also included various other initiatives designed to transform the country’s railway system.
Goyal said: “Railways is committed to ensuring high standards of safety, speed and service for Indian consumers and also ensuring contribution to national development.
“In the past one month, Indian Railways has taken significant transformative steps to ensure this goal.â€
The new initiatives are expected to make passenger safety the highest priority across the country’s rail network.
“Railways is committed to ensuring high standards of safety, speed and service for Indian consumers and also ensuring contribution to national development.”
The ministry will emphasise the need for field inspections by officers and will work towards replacing the remaining 5,000 unmanned level crossings on a gradual basis.
Additionally, the development will see a shift to LHB coaches from ICF coaches across the rail network by next year, as well as the installation of electronic interlocking signals in place of manual interlocking systems.
CCTV cameras will also be installed in coaches and stations to ensure additional security for women and senior citizens.
Indian Railways plans to use mobile apps for monitoring and passenger services, and is expected to provide Wi-Fi services at all stations and on-board its trains.
The company also intends to complete the electrification of the railways in the next four to five years, which would lead to significant savings in energy costs and reduce pollution due to a decrease in the amount of carbon emissions.
