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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."

10 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. I hate to seem callous... by l810c · · Score: 3, Insightful
    In June, 51 people died when a train crashed into boulders in an area south of the financial capital, Bombay (Mumbai).

    Do the boulders have GPS too?

    At present, drivers sit on hard wooden seats in cabins where temperatures often soar to an unbearable 56C.

    The rest rooms provided for them often have no electricity and they have no recreational facilities.

    They will also get cushioned seats in the engine room as well as a walkie-talkie to keep in touch with the station officials.

    But it seems like they could have addressed some of these issues incrementally.

  2. So... it'll know where other trains are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    But it still won't know when a cow is on the tracks. If the driver is awake, this really shouldn't be necessary.

  3. Sooo.... by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What happens when the USA turns off or munges GPS information again? Is Europe still considering if they should make a secondary GPS system?

    --
    1. Re:Sooo.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Indeed. Few people know it but if "something" were to happen in the US such that GPS emphemeris could not be updated on its normal schedule (weekly), within a month or two GPS would become next to useless. The safety margin on GPS is actually quite thin. GPS could not be part of the picture in those "last man on earth" movies.

  4. the reason for most train crashes by civilengineer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    is bad tracks and bridges, rather than stationary objects on track. The only solution for that is to get rid of the British laid century old tracks and lay new ones.

    --

    New year Resolution: Don't change sig this year
  5. better than nothing, but... by kaan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Having heard countless stories from most of my Indian pals over the years, I'm really curious how much of a difference this GPS plan will make. Sure, it's might be better than the way things are right now, but it seems that the transportation problems are endemic to society and thus not fixable (or even help-able) with something like GPS devices. And this isn't limited to just trains; there are apparently bus accidents all the time, too.

    Having not been to India myself, I have to go with my second-hand knowledge and stories I hear, but it pretty much sounds like the Indian economy would never support the kinds of changes required to make mass transit actually safe. I'm interested to hear others' thoughts on this.

  6. Re:GPS by insecuritiez · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That could be solved by a clever engineer. How about the rout is pre-programmed so it knows what tracks it is on, then instead of measuring the horizontal (which track it is on), that is known and only the vertical (along the track) is needed from GPS. Or, how about DGPS, to enhance the accuracy. Now how GPS is going to tell them when a cow is crossing is another story. Last I checked cows were not born with transmitters.

  7. Yep... by SharpFang · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Going to attach a GPS to each tree growing by the track, in case wind breaks it and it falls on the track obstructing it?

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    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  8. Shotgun article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The article shotguns a lot of improvements in one page or so. There are several problems that need to be solved and one (or a few) of them can be solved using the GPS or similar system. If each train has a one GPS receiver and broadcasts its position, the driver can at least be cognizant there is another train nearby and have enhanced situational awareness. If there is only a single track, then he knows the train is likely on the same track as his. The most likely use is to prevent collisions - which have happened before.

    The article does a bad job with the shotgun approach in that the collision with objects on the track (like rocks, carts, cars etc) is not preventable with GPS (practically speaking) and other methods have to be used for it.

    " "Any problem by way of derailment or any other danger on the tracks will be picked up by the GPS and a warning will be conveyed via this device to the driver inside the engine cabin," Mr Sandhu says."

    That sounds like snake oil.

    Either that or there are other sensors broadcasting on the same frequency band and received and processed by the same "alerting system" on the train, that has been misunderstood by the non-technical person.

    -srr

  9. Re:Is Hi-Tech the Only Way For India to Survive? by dave420 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Japan is tiny compared to India. That alone has a LOT to do with it. Japan, also, has a new train network. India's is very, very old. I mean seriously old.

    Oh, and I'd like to see America function without high technology. Seriously, that would be hilarious. If all the intercity flights were grounded, and cars were taken off the road, the average US joe would use Amtrack to get around, and you'd soon understand the predicament India is in.

    It's easy to make fun of the little guy.