To minimise the risk of disruption of train services during the monsoon season, the Mumbai division of the Western Railway has adopted the Intelligent Rainwater Monitoring System along ‘vulnerable’ bridges. Secondly, it has also installed a Digital Rainfall and Weather Monitoring System.
The Intelligent Rainwater Monitoring System has been installed at 17 locations – of which four are in the suburban rail network between Mahim-Bandra, Borivali-Dahisar, Mira Road Dahisar-Mira Road, and Bhayander-Naigaon stations.
Whereas, the Digital Rainwater Monitoring System is available at 20 locations.
Features of Intelligent Rainwater Monitoring System:
- Remote monitoring
- Pulse radar-based water level monitoring instrument
- Communicates with the water level monitoring instrument and transmits data every 15 minutes via GPRS
- Integrated with Railways IT Application-Bridge Management System
- Monitors water levels anytime, anywhere via internet browser
- SMS alerts sent based on water level thresholds (normal, danger, high flood)
- Alert sent every 12 hours normally, every hour when water passes the danger level
Features of Digital Rainfall and Weather Monitoring System:
- Outdoor Unit and Indoor Unit (IDU) components
- Measures rainfall, temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction
- Funnel collects rainwater, fills the bucket, and records measurements accordingly
- Wireless updates, recorded every 15 minutes on a pen drive/memory for real-time monitoring
Official Quote:
Niraj Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Western Railway’s Mumbai Central Division, stated, “By leveraging technology, we are enhancing and streamlining what used to be manual processes. This approach ensures greater accuracy, reliability, and digital efficiency.”