Mumbai: Western Railways gets unified command centre to better operations

WR hopes to improve response to commuters through the command centre

For quicker response to commuters and efficient train operations, Western Railway (WR) has embraced data science. In a first-of-its-kind system, it has integrated all its digital control rooms, including signals, power systems and thousands of CCTVs, into a unified command centre.

"The Unified Command and Control Centre integrates information systems across the core functions of railways - operations, commercial, asset management of both the fixed and rolling infrastructure that is track, signal and telecom, traction, power systems, locomotives, coaches and wagons, maintenance depots and stations, finance, HR, procurement - and produces robust data-driven cross-functional visualisation tool kits for enhancing the immediate, medium and long-term all-round performance," said WR's chief PRO Sumit Thakur.

The unified command centre at Mumbai Central

Throwing more light on the initiative, he added, "The nerve centre, along with train operations and security, has also been integrated seamlessly with the disaster management system of the state with streaming information on almost every aspect of relevance, including flooding, rainfall, trespassing, communication with external agencies - the district and municipal authorities, police, fire, hospitals, navy, coast guard."

WR's Mumbai division has 560 route kilometres, spreading from Mumbai to Surat, operating over 1,300 suburban services per day. The network carries over 35 lakh passengers daily and runs more than 120 outbound trains.

The command centre unifies the control rooms of Mumbai Central, Valsad and Nandurbar. Spread across 587 sq. mt or over 6,300 sqft at Mumbai Central, the command has video walls in nine columns. It has 16 workstations and a 30-seater facility equipped with interactive audio-visual tools.