Prayagraj: The railways will install front view cameras equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology on every locomotive to address the rising incidents of train accidents across the country, said Railway Board chairman Jaya Varma Sinha . “We are installing cameras on all the locomotives in addition to the ones installed in the coaches and CCTVs that are installed on the railway stations. These CCTVs have the support of artificial intelligence (AI) to control any incident,” Sinha said.
Sinha, who hails from Prayagraj and is the first woman CEO of Railway Board, was on a daylong visit to city on Monday to review the preparations of the upcoming Maha Kumbh-2025. This was her first visit to the city after assuming charge as the CRB. While interacting with the media, the CRB, on being asked whether the recent derailment of Sabarmati Express near Kanpur was a conspiracy, said: “We have lodged an FIR with the police and now it is up to the police to investigate.
On our part, we have initiated an inquiry, and we would wait for the findings of the inquiry.” On preventing any such incidents during mega religious events like Maha Kumbh, Sinha said: “We will be extremely vigilant during the entire length of the religious fair and all the security agencies, including that of the Indian Railways and the civil administration, will collaborate with each other to ensure round-the-clock monitoring of the tracks. Additional forces would also be deployed to keep a continuous vigil on the railway tracks,” she added.
To handle the heavy influx of devotees, railways have made elaborate arrangements, Sinha said. “We had operated 503 special trains during the major bathing days in the 2019 Kumbh and this time, we will be operating 900 special trains on these important bathing days and if needed, these numbers could be increased,” she said. The CRB visited various railway stations, including Prayagraj Junction, Prayag, Phaphamau, Prayagraj Sangam, and Jhunsi, and inspected the ongoing civil work at these stations, which majorly caters to the devotees coming to Maha Kumbh.
She also inspected the control tower which will manage the crowd during Maha Kumbh. Sinha also visited the four holding areas that have been painted in four different colours. She inquired about the officials who would be overall in charge of the control room.
She instructed officials to install as many screens as possible in the control tower and a single command on major bathing days. Sinha also said announcements should be made with high quality equipment. The CRB laid stress on appointing a single official as the overall in charge of controlling the crowd.
Her visit to Prayagraj Sangam station was not included in her official schedule. General managers of all the three railway zones i.e.
NCR, NR, and NER accompanied her during her inspection. She also held a meeting of the higher officials at the headquarters of NCR and gave instructions regarding providing the best facilities to the devotees during the Maha Kumbh..
