Coz the journey is more beautiful than the destination – AI in Indian Railways

Spread across a whopping 1,15,000 kilometers, the Indian Railways consists of a massive network of tracks running from everywhere to everywhere.

The Indian Railways forms the world’s second largest railway network. Thus, one can imagine the kind of cooperation that is necessary from the different departments involved, for the system to function daily.

The Indian Railways used to heavily depend on the manual work performed by its employees for most of its operations.

However, work done by humans is prone to lapses. When operations take place on such a large scale, even small lapses can cause huge consequences.

Areas where AI can give a helping hand in Indian Railways

The purpose of any technology is to simplify manual work – more accurate work in less time.

Considering the scale of operations of the Indian Railways, there are several areas that can benefit from artificial intelligence.

Listed below are a few areas where use of AI in Indian Railways would lead to smoother operations.

1. Ensuring travelers’ safety

When a new feature or a new train is introduced on the tracks, there is a need to ensure passenger safety.

Even otherwise, there could be some obstacles on the tracks which may lead to deadly accidents.

Employing AI-based solutions can help alert the locomotive driver about humans/animals/other obstacles on the track.

In fact, AI assistants can be used for automated decision making so that there is no delay.

2. AI in Charting train schedules

Scheduling belongs to the core of the railway department’s operations. Without proper schedules, chaos would ensue.

The department would not be able to function smoothly. The system’s efficiency takes a hit.

Ultimately, the passengers suffer.

Advanced data visualization tools can help determine the busiest routes and times.

AI-assisted scheduling would ensure that trains are scheduled in an optimized manner.

One can expect enhanced efficiency in a lesser amount of time.

3. AI in Railways Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is a crucial factor that decides whether or not passengers travel safely.

Keeping manual records regarding the maintenance of rail equipment would be time-consuming and is prone to human error.

An AI-based automated system to alert the respective employees when equipment maintenance is due, can avert future accidents.

Digitised records would be more efficient as well.

4. Signaling

Converting railway signals to AI-based signals would eliminate the need for a manual employee. Also, signals can be designed to work dynamically based on the situation rather than on a set pattern.

Apart from the areas discussed above, AI would be of help in managing staff data, their payrolls, monitoring the internal operation of a train and so on.

There are a vast number of areas waiting for improvement through the use of AI.

SmartFeedback – A Step Towards Change

With so many technological developments, it was only natural that the Indian Railways got influenced by the change.

Thus, it has already started implementing Iot and AI-based solutions in the hope of providing better service.

One such success story is the implementation of SmartFeedback – a software platform for smoother orchestration of operations between the stakeholders involved.

For this project, Indian Railways collaborated with Gaia that built a customized solution.

The system employs IoT sensors to collect real-time data – pressure, power usage, temperature, humidity and other parameters. This data is analysed to get the asset performance on a real-time basis.

Gaia has also integrated an Onboard Housekeeping Service management system to manage the processes and people onboard.

After the implementation of Gaia’s customized solution, the Indian Railways saw a 100% rise in accountability in transparency.

Real-time monitoring of performance has become a much simpler task today.

The road ahead

The Indian Railways is pushing its boundaries and attempting to incorporate many more AI-based applications in its operations.

In November 2020, the railway ministry announced that it would include AI and data analytics to improve efficiency.

AI will be useful for predictive asset maintenance. Currently, the entity carries out maintenance in a periodic manner.

With the implementation of AI, continuous monitoring and automatic alert generation will make maintenance easier.

The ministry has announced its plans to collaborate with the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad to accomplish the same.

It has also started training selected employees in the AI and data analytics concepts that they would need to be aware of.

Challenges to AI in Indian Railways

India is a land of a huge population. Thus, bottlenecks in implementation of new services mainly revolve around making them accessible and affordable.

Here are some of the roadblocks to integration of AI in railways.

1. Complexity of algorithms

Owing to the vastness of the services, one needs to develop algorithms that can take in a variety of inputs.

This would increase the complexity of algorithms whose development can take time.

2. Complying with the government regulations

Any technological solution to be implemented in railways would have to comply with the rules and regulations set by the government.

As the complexity of the solution increases, this can prove to be a challenge.

Summary

This is all about AI in Indian Railways. It is evident that the government is keen on creating a conducive environment to incorporate cutting edge technology.

Hopefully, we will be able to get past the obstacles and ultimately improve the railway operations in the country.