Indian Railways Will Become ‘Smarter’; AI, Smart Coach & 5 Key Initiatives Announced!

Indian Railways is all set to become ‘smarter’, and no just Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data, but several other key initiatives have been announced by the Rail Ministry.

Here are the 7 key initiatives announced:

GPS On Every Train

Very soon, every locomotive of Indian Rail will be equipped with GPS for live tracking of the trains. As of now, the ‘running status’ of trains is based on the information derived from each passing station on the route.

But from now on, GPS installed in the locomotives will inform us about the position of the train.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been roped in to place GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN) on every locomotive, which will create nation’s first Real-Time Train Information System (RTIS) for trains.

In January, we had reported that the GPS system would be installed across 2700 trains.

GPS is one of the key ingredients for making trains ‘smarter’.

AI Powered Smart Coaches

The first set of Artificial Intelligence powered Smart Coaches have been rolled out from Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli, as part of Make in India campaign.

These coaches are powered with AI, which can alert the maintenance staff about the requirements of the coaches. Using AI, Railways can ‘predict’ wheel defects, defects on the bearings, and hard spot (defects) on the track.

Every aspect of the coach, right from security to water leakage would now remotely managed, using AI and GPS. A true revolution for Indian Railways!

Technology To Improve Punctuality

We have already reported how punctuality is a major problem for Indian Railways, as more than 30% of the trains have been late this year.

Now, technology will be used to rectify it.

Soon, station masters would be asked not to record the timings of arrival, as a data logger would be used to record the arrival and departure of trains. Such data loggers would be installed at every interchange, and station, and will be connected with the computer to generate the logs.

As per the Railway Minister, such data loggers will improve punctuality of trains by 75%.

Electrification To Save $2 Billion

As per a new plan of action, electrification of trains will be done in a modern way, wherein existing diesel engines will be converted into electric engines, thereby saving $2 billion per year for Indian Railways.

Not only fuel costs will be saved, but also the cost of electrification.

Permanent Speed Restrictions

A plan has been announced to place permanent speed restrictions across trains in some routes, to enhance security. Besides all rail bridges will be audited, and a separate budget will be allocated to upgrade them. Smarter time tables will be also announced, soon.

WiFi Across Stations

By 2020, 6000 Railway Stations across India will be empowered with WiFi, in partnership with Google and other private players.

The goal is to make Railway Stations a hub of Digital India.

AC Pantry Cars With Induction Cookers

Soon, all pantry cars in the trains would be Air-conditioned powered with Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) rakes, and will be equipped with induction cooking system for safe cooking.

As of now, only Rajdhani Express from Mumbai to Delhi is equipped with induction cooking.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.