The Indian Railways never cease to amaze us. It ranks fourth among the longest railway networks of the world. With time, it has brought in a lot of changes in its system. Technology has become very important in recent times, so the Indian Railways has brought in a lot of technological transformations. A lot of money has been invested in the upgrade and addition of different technological innovations so that the passengers have a safe and enjoyable journey. These transformations were made by the government as a part of the Digital India initiative. Now the Railways has become even smarter by the invent drone technology and the help of modernized applications. Some of the most recent advancements in the Railway technology include:
- Wi-Fi Facilities at Stations– The Digital India initiative declared that about 8500 stations from all around India would be equipped with free Wi-Fi facilities. Prior to this initiative, only 216 stations had Wi-Fi facilities. This allowed close to 7 million railway passengers to use this free Wi-Fi facility by logging on to the system. This step is one of the most important steps towards making India digital.
- Kiosks or Hotspots– Kiosks will be provided at many of the rural railway stations, which will have Wi-Fi access. Many kinds of work can be done in the digital hotspots such as filing taxes, digital banking, issuing govern certificates, aadhaar generation, paying bills, etc. The local population of that area can also these kiosks to connect to e-commerce portals to order and receive goods. The modalities regarding the set-up of these kinds of digital hotspots are being worked on by the Telecom Ministry.
- Better Safety– Dense fog in winter results in zero visibility, which causes a lot of delays and accidents in the railways. A new device known as the fog safety device has now been installed in the trains, which help avoid such circumstances by the Indian Railways. In North India, winters are accompanied by dense fog, and this affects the movement of both flights and trains. To reduce the losses caused by this and to provide safer travel the Railway Ministry had decided upon installing this device. The device alerts the driver of the train about the upcoming signal, as it becomes impossible to read the signal on the foggy track through their eyes.
- Real-Time Information– Preparations are being made to build the largest digital display network of our country. Its main purpose is to provide the passengers the real-time information about the arrival and departure of their trains. The passengers can now easily know all about their PNR status enquiry. Recent data shows that with the help of digital platforms, around 15000 e-tickets are being booked every minute, and this counts for about 68 percent of the total number of tickets. There are some more advanced apps, which provide the live status of the train to the passengers on board or any other people interested.
More and more research is being done to make the journey in trains much more comfortable for the travelers.