BENGALURU: In a major step towards enhancing safe rail travel in South Western Railway division, 2,434 Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers have been procured for its patrolmen and keymen. These trackmen patrol railway tracks round-the-clock to assess their safety fitness. The GPS will also help top officials monitor the working of these staffers.

Of the trackers purchased, 962 are for Bengaluru division, 642 for Mysuru and 840 for Hubballi division. A total of 139 trackers have already been put to use, 132 of them in Mysuru division and seven in Bengaluru division.

The trackers can either be worn around one’s neck like an identity card or like wristbands, a senior railway official said. It will play a crucial role in alerting top officials about any problem on the railway tracks,
which will help avert derailment or other accidents.

Each trackman walks a nearly 8km along railway tracks daily to check the line for safety features, the official explained. “In the past, whenever the trackman detected an emergency such as damage to the track, he would alert the nearest station by rushing in person. Mobile calls can be made but network connectivity is often not there in many interior areas along tracks. Now, with GPS available everywhere, it will help alert top officials immediately. Help can be despatched to the exact spot as it will get mapped,”the official said.

The GPS tracker has an alarm SOS button. “Whenever the SOS button is pressed, initially an emergency message will go to three people. If the first person is unable to pick up the call or rejects it, the call will go to the second person and this will continue till someone picks up the call,” another official explained.

While push trolleys and motor trolleys across South Western Railway Zone had the GPS option embedded a year ago, it is only recently that the field staff have been given this facility.Also, through the GPS system, the control room can track the movement of the workers and whether they are reporting to duty on time.