Report calls for satellite monitoring of railway operations

An in-house report on traffic-optimisation submitted to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

Indian Railways may be looking at satellite monitoring and control of train operations in the future and may even invest in a satellite of its own. An in-house report on traffic-optimisation submitted to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday has called for such monitoring and control under a new entity called the Director General of Railway Operations (DGRO).

The report, prepared by a committee of top-level railway traffic officers from across the country and headed by Additional Member (IT), Railway Board Mohammad Jamshed, has made a case for DGRO for enhancing safety and smooth operations aided by realtime satellite imaging. The Railway Board is already in talks with ISRO for a berth in existing satellites. “Data received from satellite images will be relayed to the station and to train drivers thereby eliminating the need for in-cab signalling. This will help in accident prevention, smoother operation and a host of other benefits,” said a Railway Board official.

The DGRO, a body headed by a senior Indian Railway Traffic Service officer and manned by joint secretary-level officers along with others in control of a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), and has all the 68 divisions of Indian Railways and 16 zonal headquarters linked on a single network in real time.

In case of low visibility operations, accidents, natural calamities and even for optimum rolling-stock utilisation, the control will give railways an edge that it does not have at present. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said the significance of the report is that it has been prepared by people who would be at the forefront of implementing much of the recommendations of the report. To achieve a quantum jump in traffic numbers, both freight and passenger segments, the report has come up with actionable points for each zone.

Source:: Indian Express