Railway drones which monitor track-laying | Fusion - WeRIndia

Indian Railways is aiming to improve everything using new technology. The newest innovation is the use of drones to track the process of track-laying objects. This is a first of its kind decision by the Indian Railways. It has been announced that these drones will be employed to monitor progress of track-laying projects all over the country.

This new initiative by the Indian Railways will be in line with the Digital India initiative. Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu announced these drones in his budget presentation in February, 2016.

Currently, the drones are being used to monitor Dedicated Freight Corridor projects which are underway in Rajasthan and Bihar. The project has been contracted to a private operator for implementation.

Adesh Sharma, the DFC Managing Director Adesh Sharma stated that the drones will be used to keep track of the progress on the 42km long track between Baghega to Srimadhopur in Rajasthan in the Western DFC. They will also monitor the project of laying a 56km long line between Durgawati and Sasaram in Bihar.

He added that the use of such technology makes things easier and faster. They were able to prepare the status report of ongoing projects with ease through these drones. With the help of these drones, even field work can be monitored from the office.

However, monitoring the projects of track-laying isn’t the only thing these drones will be used for by the Railways. They will also be a great help in in rescue missions during train accidents. Using the drones, the railways can conduct aerial surveys and get an understanding of the situation. They can also monitor for people who are trapped in cases of accidents.

This is not the first move by Railways towards a more digital oriented Railway sector. Recently, they have launched the high-speed Wi-Fi internet service in Bhubaneswar by RailTel. These initiatives certainly fit nicely with the Digital India initiative.

Image Reference: TheBetterIndia