A GPS-enabled device fitted in locomotives will let passengers track their trains on a real-time basis in a move to overhaul the railways’ slower manual system and provide accurate train timings. Railway minister Piyush Goyal has asked all 16 railway zones in India to adopt the new system, called real-time punctuality monitoring and analysis (RPMA), to ensure punctuality and safety. It will be available first on the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes by February-end, and cover the entire country in phases later. The existing national train enquiry system (NTES) is based on manual entry data by train controllers. “If a train starts late by half an hour, the station master might not inform the controller about the delay.

Source: Hindustan Times November 30, 2017 02:03 UTC