The Jhansi division of North Central Railways (NCR) will soon introduce high-definition cameras to monitor undercarriage of trains that halt at the junction in a bid to inspect the locomotive for faults or damaged parts. The cameras will record and give real-time assessment of damages, aiding officials in taking prompt action.

Gaurav Bansal, Chief Public Relations Officer of NCR, said, “Conventionally, the undercarriage of trains, which includes wheel sets, suspension, brakes and other devices, were manually inspected by two or three workers from the outside while the train in is movement. At night, these men either use torch or flood lights to locate or find damaged parts and alert loco pilots. With these new cameras installed on tracks at both ends of the platform, inspection of the undercarriages will be thorough.”

Wear and tear of train carriages takes place mostly in the summer months, added Bansal. “No division of the Indian Railways has introduced this technology,” he said.

The Jhansi junction has seven platforms and sees a traffic of around 150 express as well as mail trains. Divisional commercial manager of Jhansi division, Neeraj Bhatnagar, said, “Funds for the cameras have been approved. Soon, these will be installed. We are also going to upgrade the CCTV cameras in the stations for better surveillance.”