ISRO and Railway

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now the world’s sixth-largest space organisation. ISRO has a long list of accomplishments that have made Indians proud, one of which is providing security to Indian railways.

As a result, Indian Railways have a difficult time checking accidents at unmanned crossings. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Railways are working together to combat the problem of train accidents and to track train movements in real-time. ISRO’s Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) or NaVIC is being used for this (Navigation with Indian Constellation). This article discusses the IRNSS system, including how it will assist Indian Railways in reducing accidents, what services it will provide, its applications, and whether or not it is better than GPS.

Indian Space Research Organisation:

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation), a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that was originally developed for the Indian airspace, has emerged as a gamechanger for Dev and his fellow controllers taking impromptu and sensitive decisions on train movements in 305 section controls spread across India. Every 30 seconds, it now communicates train-running data, including both location and speed, making the system significantly more accurate and efficient.

Railway authorities estimate that the entire network will be covered in a year. The identity of the precise satellite used by the IR has been suppressed by ET Magazine because of its strategic nature, which necessitates secrecy. On January 8, the IR launched RTIS on a few routes, including Mumbai-Katra, New Delhi-Patna, New Delhi-Amritsar, and Delhi-Jammu, signalling a radical shift in strategy that embraces satellite technology. Previously, in July-September 2017, the ISRO undertook a trial project.

Railways tie-up with ISRO:

In order to improve safety and efficiency, Indian Railways will collaborate with Isro to obtain online satellite pictures.

“We will use geospatial technology to execute a huge GIS mapping exercise of the entire rail route and assets, including buildings, land, workshops, and other facilities in the network,” a senior railway ministry official involved in the GIS mapping project said. GPS (global positioning systems), GIS (geographical information systems), and RS (remote sensing) technologies are all examples of geospatial technology (remote sensing).

According to the official, Isro’s GPS aided geo augmented navigation (GAGAN) technology would provide geospatial services via satellite-assisted navigational support.

The first railway in India:

In 1832, in Madras, India, the first railway proposals were proposed. In 1837, the country’s first train, the Red Hill Railway, operated from Red Hills to Madras’ Chintadripet Bridge. It was drawn by a William Avery rotary steam locomotive. The railway, which was built by Arthur Cotton, was largely used to bring laterite stone to Madras for road construction. At Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry, the Godavari Dam Construction Railway was completed in 1845. Cotton also erected a dam over the Godavari River, which provided stone for its construction.

Lord Dalhousie dedicated the country’s first passenger train, which travelled between Bombay’s Bori Bunder station and Thane on April 16, 1853. Three steam locomotives, the Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan, pulled the 14-car train. The train carried 400 passengers over a distance of 34 kilometres (21 miles). The Great Indian Peninsula Railway built and operates the passenger line (GIPR). It was constructed in the broad gauge of 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in), which became the country’s norm for railways.

The Bombay–Thane line was extended to Kalyan in May 1854, with the Thane viaducts (India’s first railway bridges) over the Thane creek. On August 15, 1854, the first passenger train in eastern India operated from Howrah (near Calcutta) to Hoogly, covering a distance of 24 miles (39 km).

Father of Indian railways:

The first passenger train station was erected in the Mumbai neighbourhood of Bori Bunder. Lord Dalhousie also developed the Doctrine of Lapse, which was a watershed moment in India’s 1857 uprising. This was the first time the Indians stood united in their opposition to the British.

Conclusion:

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now the world’s sixth-largest space organisation. One of the most significant innovations undertaken by Indian Railways in 2019 is the connection of its locomotives via ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) satellites. This will be done so that trains can be reliably tracked and control charts concerning their arrival and departure can be automatically updated. 

The first passenger train station was erected in the Mumbai neighbourhood of Bori Bunder. Lord Dalhousie also developed the Doctrine of Lapse, which was a watershed moment in India’s 1857 uprising. This was the first time the Indians stood united in their opposition to the British.