Satellite surveillance of trains to stop oil, coal theft

New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) It will now be tough to steal oil and coal from goods trains at unauthorised stations as satellites of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will not only inform passengers about their destinations but will also surveil the trains.

Real-time monitoring of the movement of the goods trains has started in the control office application system through ISRO's satellite. GPS systems in more than 700 trains have been installed for this.

Goods trains, especially those which transport coal and oil (diesel and petrol), are major source of earnings for Indian Railways. However, complaints of theft of oil and coal are often received, which involves the running staff, railway security forces (RPF), and local employee mafia of railway stations.

IPS officer and RPF Director General Arun Kumar said that the new technology is expected to prevent theft of oil and coal from goods trains, as real-time monitoring would make it difficult to stop these trains at unauthorized stations or outer signals.

Kumar said, "Now it will not be possible to stop the goods trains at unauthorized stations. If someone stops the trains and steals oil and coal, he will be caught red-handed."

Earlier, the system used to monitor the movement of trains was done only when they used to pass from a particular station. It was difficult to tap the trains which halted between two stations. However, with the new satellite surveillance the speed of the train and its location will be available in real time.