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Using GPS To Prevent Train Crashes In India

Posted by timothy on from the appropriate-technology dept.

dave420 writes "The BBC has an article outlining plans in India to use GPS technology to alert train drivers of obstructions on the tracks, automatically stopping the train if the driver fails to take action. This sounds like a good use of cheaply-available technology to provide a safer train network."

6 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. GPS by fldvm · · Score: 5, Informative

    The reason that GPS is not used in the US for trains more is because many times tracks run right next to each other and sometimes trains run on the right and other times on the left. GPS is not accurate enough to tell what track the train is on.

    1. Re:GPS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well, the system is different in India, we have a two track system, an up-line and a down-line, and trains never travel parallel to each other in the same direction on the same stretch of track at the same time. So GPS makes sense. What i dont understand is how the Indian railways is going to use this stuff, India is notious for the "let-it-go" attitude to serious issues, ministers and staff are callous, and Indian railway staions are a sight to behold, it's almost a mini-fair, sadhus, fakirs, beggars, thieves, cheats touts, vendors hawking everthing from desi-viagra to eucalyptus oil, ticketless travellers riding on the roof, dirt, faeces on the tracks, cows, crows, huge bandicoot rats etc,

      If you ever get caught in a train problem someplace in India, do not expect the railways to help you or give you a refund, get going from wherever you can, that ways you atleast save some time. Carry a basic first aid kit, avoid eatables offered by co-passengers (might be drugged), and drink bottled water, travel by AC if you can...

  2. some facts about indian railways by dracken · · Score: 4, Informative
    I thought I could pitch in with a few handy facts. Indian railways is one of the largest railways in the world. The Centre for Railway Information Systems has implemented the online reservation system through which half a million people book tickets everyday - the reservation system is one of the largest distributed databases in world and runs openVMS. Consider the scale of operations-

    Indian Railways has over 62,000 route kms of track.

    Indian Railways employs about 1.6 million people.

    Carries over 11 million passengers & one million tonnes of freight everyday. (about 4.83 billion passengers and 492 million tons of freight per year)

    It runs about 13,000 trains daily and has 6,984 railway stations.

    The longest journey on Indian Railways is from Jammu Tawi to Kanyakumari, a distance of about 3,751 kms covered by Himsagar Express in about 66 hours.

    1. Re:some facts about indian railways by arvindn · · Score: 4, Informative

      I thought I'd add some things:

      * Compared to the USA, in India trains are by far the most common means of transport between cities because road travel is too slow and air travel is too costly for most.
      Trains are used even within cities.
      * Trains here have a reputation for always arriving late. Most of the coaches are used long after they should be discarded, leading to increasd accident frequency.
      * Recently the Indian railways has made a lot of efforts to modernize itself, like online reservation, as the parent poster noted.

  3. Re:Is Hi-Tech the Only Way For India to Survive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Please read "Trains in Japan". Trains in Japan have been extremely reliable and clean since the 1950s -- almost half a century. In 1960, there was no GPS, no Internet, etc. Yet, the train system in Japan worked fine.

    Japan is a smaller country.
    Japan didn't have rail put in by the British
    Japan has a much higher literacy rate
    Japan's population have one common language. India's national language is English but that was only because it was the only common one educated Indians had.
    Japan was high tech in the 1950. India simply was not.
    Japan had western help to rebuild after the war

    India was abondoned by the British some time ago, and part of Gandhi's dream was to bring literacy into India. He too felt there was no excuse for them living in 3rd world conditions. It's been a very slow going task.

  4. Re:Sooo.... by absolut_kurant · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes Europe is :) The system is called Galileo and you can find more information at the link. Slashdot also had a story.

    The first satellites are supposed to be launched in 2004.

    --
    Yes.