To alert the railway men in context with the abnormal rise in the water level of the Brahmaputra, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has further cashed in on the technology-driven world of today and has successfully installed a system based on radar technology in the Saraighat rail-cum-road bridge in Guwahati on Monday.
According to a report published in The Economic Times, the entire radar technology system will automatically and constantly monitor the water level in the Brahmaputra and send text messages (read SMS) to pre-determined cell phones.
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“This automated system is an improvement over manual mode of recording being adopted so far. Soon, it will be integrated with the railways Track Management System (TMS). Similar system will be installed in total 10 bridges within NFR Railways very soon. Railwaymen looking after the system will get alert signals as soon as the water level in the river crosses danger level, so that train services can be suitably regulated to obviate any danger,” stated NFR in a statement.
Explaining the technicalities of the system, NFR further stated in its statement that the electro-magnetic waves generated in the instrument come back to the sensor after passing through the air and reaching the water surface.
The statement further said, “Distance between the instrument and water surface is calculated from the travel time of waves. Thus, a very accurate and reliable level of water is found. From site, the data goes directly to the Master System through GPRS. Alert signals are automatically sent to cell phones and TMS through an Internet-based system.”
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NFR has adopted the said technology as part of a nationwide programme to adopt modern technology to alert the Railways regarding the abnormal rise in the water level of the major rivers of the country. This technology will help Railway looking after the system to get alert signals as soon as the water level in the river crosses the danger level, so that train services can be accordingly regulated to prevent any imminent danger.
The report quoted the Chief Public Relation Officer of NFR, PJ Sharma, as saying, “The distance between the instrument and water surface is calculated from travel time of waves. Thus, a very accurate and reliable level of water is found. From site, the data goes directly to the Master System through the GPRS. Alert signals are automatically sent to cell phones and TMS through an Internet-based system.”