Mumbai’s Central Railway uses drones to detect threats in hilly areas

Drone inspection of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)–Kalyan section and the Harbour railway route will also be conducted before monsoon.

In order to ensure a hassle-free monsoon for passengers, the Central Railway (CR) are now using drones to survey the mountain pass at the Sahyadri mountain ranges on the Mumbai-Pune route and the Mumbai-Nashik route.

Loose boulders fall on the tracks due to heavy rainfall, which obstructs movement of local as well as outstation trains.(REPRESENTATIONAL PHOTO/HT FILE)

The ghats are the most vulnerable areas during monsoon, as loose boulders fall on the tracks due to heavy rainfall. This obstructs movement of local as well as outstation trains. Regions near Lonavala, Monkey Hill and the Kasara Ghats most commonly witness small rocks and boulders falling. The drones are being used to detect dangerous areas.

Drone inspection of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)–Kalyan section and the Harbour railway route will also be conducted before monsoon. CR has sought permission to carry out the operation from the Mumbai police.

In August last year, three passengers were injured after a boulder fell on a coach of the city-bound Hubbali- LTT Express train near Lonavla.

“The drone inspection will help identify key areas which needs to be worked upon. We are constantly inspecting the areas around the ghats to identify threats of falling boulders,” said SK Jain, divisional railway manager, CR.

The railways have rented the drones for a cost of nearly Rs4,000 per kilometre.

Moreover, the railways have asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) to provide them with a larger number of water-pumping machine. This has been done in order to tackle the water logging problem near the Sion and Kurla railway stations. Two 1,000-cubic-meter water-pumping machines will be provided at both stations during the monsoons.

“We will be getting 1,000 cubic meter water pumping machine for both Kurla and Sion,” said SK Jain.