ISRO and Indian Railways join hands to make every level crossing safer

The site of many accidents in India, every level crossing will now be safer thanks to joint efforts of ISRO and Indian Railways.

The level crossings across the country are the sites for accidents and the number is on the rise instead of decreasing. The concern is for safer passage both for Indian Railways as well as the on-road traffic. Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO has started working with Indian Railways to develop a safer solution for any level crossing. The answer is ‘Hooters’. Road traffic will be warned through hooters about the arrival of a train. The solution becomes more relevant for the unmanned crossings where the accidents are more frequent.

Taking the risky way out, many road users break the barriers by rushing ahead and disregard the rule. While some escape, some don’t. Warnings go unheeded and deaths and loss occur. Hooters are expected to make the imminent danger clearer and more relevant at a level crossing. The rule which asks the driver of a vehicle to get down and inspect the railway traffic and then proceed is flouted many a time in India.

A satellite based system will be put into place after the collaborative effort of ISRO and Indian Railways to alert road traffic at unmanned level crossings. This will work by monitoring the Indian Railways traffic on a live basis. The satellite-based system will also help railways in mapping the area, and the technology will come in handy at the time of accidents when it can be used to ascertain the exact location of trains and topography, as reported in The Hindu.

The Details

The locomotives of trains are being installed with an integrated circuit chip which is being developed by ISRO. They are looking at 10,000 locomotives.

The hooters activate through the integrated circuit chips and alert traffic. The volume of the hooter varies and becomes louder as the train approaches closer to the level crossings. The technology will have a few trials at different places which are busy rail corridors. The next step will be equipping all spots in phases.