Indian Railways to cover all wagons under RFID for tracking by Dec 2022

The Indian Railways has said that it will use radio-frequency identification tags (RFID) for tracking of all wagons by 2022. A total of 23,000 wagons have been already been covered under the RFID project so far and the Railways targets to cover all wagons by December 2022.

New Delhi:In a bid to advance its tracking system, the Indian Railways will use radio-frequency identification tags (RFID) in all of its wagons and locomotives by December 2022.

With the usage of RFID tags, it will be easier for the Railways to track the exact position of wagons, locomotives and coaches.

"Currently, such data is maintained manually, which leaves the scope for errors. While the RFID tag will be fitted in rolling stock, trackside readers will be installed at stations and key points along the tracks to read the tag from a distance of about two meters and transmit the identity over a network to a central computer," explained Ministry of Railways spokesperson, RD Bajpai in a statement.

In such a manner, each moving wagon can be identified and its movement can be tracked. Till now, a total number of 23,000 wagons have been covered under the RFID project.

With the introduction of RFID, the issue of shortage of wagons, locomotives and coaches is also been expected to be addressed in a more transparent and expeditious manner.

Earlier on Thursday, Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav also informed that the Indian Railways is all set to fit Global Positioning System (GPS) in 6,000 locomotives by December 2021, to track all freight and passenger operations by satellite.

"All fixed assets of Railways have been mapped and maintenance of all software is being tracked digitally. Through Smart Yards and Smart coaches, we will be able to monitor wagons and coaches. There will be RFID tags for wagon identification. By December 2021, entire freight operations will be tracked through satellite," he said during the press conference.

Read:Railways plans to install GPS in 6,000 locomotives by Dec 2021