Internet of Things Based Fire Safety Mechanisms in Indian Railways

IoT or the Internet of Things is a growing technology where devices or more precisely sensors are interfaced with the programming language to provide us with a completely automated device which lets us monitor the desired components round the clock without much manual interference. The applications of IoT in Indian Railways is a topic which can be explored in ways unimagined. During July 2014, it was envisaged that the Indian Railways will opt for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, which will integrate freight, passenger, human resources and administrative operations across the country. Features like real-time monitoring of trains, mobile-based wake up call for passengers and destination arrival alerts, and station navigation information system would be taken forward. Indian Railways have been in the news albeit for wrong reasons. With the rapid increase in passenger and goods traffic, the frequency of train accidents is increasing very fast. This has raised serious doubts in the public mind about safety of Rail travel and the general health of the railway network. A few of the major problems faced by the railways today are railway fires and train derailments. Thus, the potential for the IT industry to leverage existing strengths in cloud, mobility and IoT (Internet of Things) for the Railways. Indian Railways have been in the news albeit for wrong reasons. With the rapid increase in passenger and goods traffic, the frequency of train accidents is increasing very fast. This has raised serious doubts in the public mind about safety of Rail travel and the general health of the railway network. A few of the major problems faced by the railways today are railway fires and train derailments. The project aims to take a small step in exploring the possibilities of the IoT and making the Railways a safer transport medium for the Indians. The project focuses on one of the main causes of railway accidents i.e. fires. The success of this project is of utmost important to increase the safety standards of the Indian Railway. The aim of the project is to devise a wireless sensor system for onboard safety in a railway compartment to avoid accidents and loss of human lives due fire. Using this technology, we can monitor the temperature of the railway compartments. The proposed project will lead to a reduction in the usage of manpower in the railways, quick and effective response for fire related accidents, differentiation between fire incidents which need some external interference and which are not at all harmful.