Railways to set up high-speed internet for passenger safety

The Long Term Evolution for Railways (LTE-R), the next generation Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC) system has planned to cater to the voice/traffic data needs of the Indian Railways, will also be set up to ensure passenger safety.

The Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research and development (R&D) arm of railways has been tasked with designing a uniform, cost-effective and integrated system to roll out Long Term Evolution for Railways (LTE-R) over 30,000-route km of the rail network.

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The railways have stated that LTE-R was also considered for the Mission Critical Passenger Safety Services & Applications, Video Surveillance System through closed-circuit television cameras in trains and the Passenger Information System and Internet of Things (IoT) on rolling stocks and fixed assets.

Institutions such as the IITs in Chennai, Roorkee and Kharagpur and the University of Mumbai have been roped in by the railways for the mission in order to use advanced technology, including MTRC and Artificial Intelligence, to envisage failures in the signalling assets and enhance the reliability of the signalling system.

The Railway Board in an advisory to all Zonal Railways, have stated for cutting costs on housekeeping activities on trains and at stations. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the operation of only a few trains is expected to continue for some more time. The advisory also stated all possible and necessary measures should be taken for reduction/control of expenditure on housekeeping on trains and stations in the present financial year. Railways should operate at an appropriate level as per requirement and critically review contracts.