New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has designed a Control Office Application (COA) system to monitor over 700 trains with an added GPS. The real-time monitoring between two stations with the tracking device began on Thursday.
The Indian Railways had collaborated with ISRO to develop the COA system to aid the process of monitoring of passenger and freight trains across the country. With its implementation, it will be easier for the railway authorities to track them and automatically feed the control room about their movement.
Furthermore, the new system will also help railways avoid theft of coal, oil or other materials which have been a predominant nuisance in freight trains.
“Now it will not be easy to stop freight train between stations. Anybody who attempts to commit theft or steal goods will be caught red-handed,” said Arun Kumar, Director-General of RPF.
The Indian Railways gets a major share of its revenue from freight services. The continuous theft and pilferage over materials transported were a major concern that was sought to be curbed with the instalment of the COA system.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Railways on Wednesday announced a discounted fare scheme to be rolled out by the end of September that will cut down the ticket price by 25 per cent of the base fare. The discount scheme will be applicable to AC Chair cars and Executive chair cars of select trains like Shatabdi, Gatimaan, Tejas, Double Decker, and Intercity, among others.
