Railways ties up with ISRO for train tracking

Source: The post is based on the article “Railways ties up with ISRO for train tracking” published in The Hindu on 7th March 2023.

What is the News?

The Indian Railways is harnessing the power of data analytics for integrated rail transportation. It has launched a project called the Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) project.

What is the Real-Time Train Information System (RTIS) project?

Aim: To enable real-time tracking of train movements with the assistance of satellite imagery.

Working of the project: Under the project, the Centre for Railway Information Systems(CRIS) has collaborated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for live tracking of train movements.

– ISRO has developed its own regional navigation satellite system called Navigation with Indian Constellation(NavIC) and Bhuvan, a web­ based utility which allows users to explore a set of map-based content being deployed for tracking.

– Indian Railways have taken bandwidth from ISRO and integrated their systems with NavIC and Bhuvan. 

– Every locomotive is fitted with a device and a SIM, which communicates the train’s real position to the satellite and feedback is received. The movement is updated every three seconds.

Significance of the project: Real ­time tracking of trains is useful during accidents, floods and land slips, when there is a need to pin down the train’s exact location for rendering help.

What are similar projects on which Indian Railways is working?

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum tech for the Indian Railways: There is a pilot project underway between Sanchar Bhavan, which houses Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology and Rail Bhavan, which houses the Ministry of Railways to use quantum key encryption in order to exchange information in a way that is “non­-hackable”.

Use of Data Analytics: Railways is tapping into data analytics to improve passenger experience, help chart out empty seats, and enable more passengers to receive confirmed tickets.