Indian Railways joined hands with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to install a Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided navigation system on trains.”Indian Railways has collaborated with ISRO to install a Global Positioning System (GPS) aided navigation system on trains which will monitor and track real time data, ensuring the train are more punctual and secure,” said an official of Eastern Railway. He reiterated that Real-time Train Information System (RTIS) project is being executed by Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), which is an Information Technology arm of the Ministry of Railways, in collaboration with ISRO. It is primarily used for acquisition of train movement data, including that of arrival, departure, run-through timings at the stations and when in route. As the RTIS devices have been installed in locomotives, the trains hauled by such locomotives get tracked through this system.
In Eastern Railway, 138 coaching locomotives are already fitted with RTIS devise. It helps in automatic plotting of control chart including mid-section plotting and end-to-end speed profile, emergency messaging on line from loco pilot to control room, punctuality monitoring, accurate real time passenger information and web-based access for real time tracking of locos at loco sheds. At present, 21 electric loco shades in Indian Railways has been brought under satellite monitoring including loco sheds at Howrah and Asansol in Eastern Railway system.
“All locomotives will be covered by Real-time Train Information System in due course ,” said the official. The introduction of such satellite based monitoring will help the Easter Railways officials at control rooms for batter operational planning and improving efficiency in train movement which will ultimately offer benefit to the passengers for planning their journey. The automatic acquisition of the train running data by the RTIS system helps in improving the efficiency of train control, dissemination of accurate train running information to the passengers and freight customers, and emergency messaging between locomotive and control centre. Initially all coaching trains in Delhi-Mumbai (CSTM), Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Howrah, Howrah-Chennai and Mumbai-Howrah routes are provided with such RTIS device and will gradually be extended to all passenger and goods trains.
