Feasibility of travelling: Indian Railways collaborate with ISRO to install GPS, SOS in locomotives

Letting passengers get availability to track the movement of premium trains and the motorman to send signals during emergencies, the Indian Railway in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation has decided to install Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and SOS system in premium trains.

In the need to usher in the new age of rail technology, the Indian railways and the ISRO in collaboration are installing GPS and SOS systems in train starting from Rajdhani and Shatabdi express by March 2019.

However, in the Real-Time Information System (RTIS) project, the passengers will be able to track a moving train through National Train Enquiry System (NTES) and related mobile applications. This will help the motorman to send distress signals in case of emergencies.

The system would provide the exact position of a moving train with the help of satellite provided by ISRO. The locomotives will also have transceivers, 4G modem, antenna.

According to the data enabled by the railway board, the systems will be installed in 2,835 locomotives. The over all cost of the project accounts to Rs 100 Crore with Rs 88.95 crore to install these devices.

The systems will be installed and introduced in two phases. In the first phase, the GPS and SOS system will be introduced in premium trains, the second phase comprises of all the superfast outstation trains and the third phase will embrace the passenger trains and goods trains.