BW Explains: Indian Railway’s Another Big Tech Step As ‘Gajraj AI’

Due to multiple factors in the diverse regions railway accidents in India have become frequent now, causing the loss of lives of living beings on a large scale. Among all, the collision of an elephant with a train comes in the severe category as the data suggests, that approximately 20 elephants lose their lives due to accidents on railway tracks.

To prevent an elephant-rail collision, the Indian Railway has taken a turn to AI (Artificial Intelligence) named ‘Gajraj’ which will aim to reduce elephant fatalities from train accidents. The railway has one similar ‘Kavach’ system as automatic train protection (ATP), which has a similar goal to address train collisions. 

The eagerly anticipated Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai railway corridors are on track to see the completion of the anti-collision system KAVACH in the fiscal year 2024-2025, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

The system will be installed on 700 kilometres of route passing through forest areas, that will cost the government Rs 181 crore. 

How Does Gajraj AI Safety System Work?

The optical fibre network systems will be placed 200 meters away from the railway tracks, and Gajraj Suraksha will sense the pressure waves generated by the movement of elephants along the tracks. As soon as the elephants move towards the railway tracks the optical fibres detect vibrations caused by their footsteps.

These triggered vibration signals within the optical fibre network, the OFC-based Intrusion Detection System works sends alarms to the nearest station master whenever movement is detected alongside the tracks. This allows railwaymen to promptly inform locomotive pilots to slow down or stop to prevent collision.

Trial of The System 

Gajraj Suraksha works on an Intrusion Detection System or IDS, which is based on an AI algorithm that claims to detect 99.5 per cent of potential collisions, providing a solution to longstanding issues. This system primarily relies on OFCs or Optical Fibre cables for quick transmission of signals.

The technology proved to be successful after rounds of trials in the last year as a pilot project along 70 70-kilometre stretch in Assam. This technology helped mitigate elephant collisions with the locomotives of trains in the forest areas of the state.

Indian Railway Leveraging Technology

Like every sector and public domain in India, the Indian Railway also trying to induce technology for improvement of services and safety. According to the data, Indian Railways is rapidly progressing to accomplish Mission100Percent Electrification and become the largest green railway network in the world. 6,542 RKMs have been achieved in IR history during 2022-23.

In addition, the large number of Digitally Interlocked Stations have been created from old lever frames to computer-based operating systems e to derive benefits of digital technologies in train operation and to enhance safety. During 2022-23, 538 Nos. of stations were provided Electronic Interlocking as compared to 421 Nos. of stations during 2021-22, an increase of 27.79 per cent. Being the largest employer and service provider in the country, Indian Railway has the utmost responsibility to provide services with proper safeguards.