An

Assignment

On

“Business Analytics of Railway Industry”

Subject: Business Analytics (4529201)

MBA SEMESTER-II
Class: B1

S.R. LUTHRA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

Affiliated to Gujarat Technological University

Ahmedabad

Submission date: 28/04/2020

Group no: 04

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. Roshni Singh Priya Rajput (197500592105)

(Assistant Professor) Rohini Agarwal (197500592111)
Bhumi Sheta (197500592125)
Shivangi Patel (197500592127)
Dhara Vashi (197500592144)
 Table of Contents

1. About Indian Railways..............................................................................................3

2. Applications of Business Analytics (BA) in Railways............................................4

3. Techniques/Technology of BA used by the Railways.............................................7

4. Types of reports and dashboard that can be generated for companies in the
Railway Industry depending upon the business decision making needs of
various levels of managers....................................................................................12

5. How various companies in railway industries at global level use Business

Analytics and suggest how can Indian Companies in the railway industry
benefit their business with such applications......................................................17

6. Government initiatives............................................................................................23

7. References.................................................................................................................25

S. R. LUTHRA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

 1. About Indian Railways

Indian Railways (IR) is the state-owned railway company of India. Indian Railways had,
until very recently, a monopoly on the country's rail transport. It is one of the largest and
busiest rail networks in the world, transporting just over six billion passengers and almost
750 million tonnes of freight annually. IR is the world's largest commercial or utility
employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.

The Indian Railways route length network is spread over 1,23,236 km, with 13,452
passenger trains and 9,141 freight trains from 7,349 stations playing 23 million travelers
and 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight daily. India's railway network is recognised as one of
the largest railway systems in the world under single management.

The railway network is also ideal for long-distance travel and movement of bulk
commodities, apart from being an energy efficient and economic mode of conveyance and
transport. Indian Railways was the preferred carrier of automobiles in the country with
loading from automobiles traffic growing 16 per cent in 2017-18.

Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's independence,
there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit,
becoming one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways operates both long
distance and suburban rail systems.

The Government of India has focused on investing on railway infrastructure by making

investor-friendly policies. It has moved quickly to enable Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
in railways to improve infrastructure for freight and high-speed trains. At present, several
domestic and foreign companies are also looking to invest in Indian rail projects.
 2. Applications of Business Analytics (BA) in Railways

The task of the Indian Railways is best captured in the words of the railway minister during
the presentation of the 2016-17 Railway Budget: “Railway facilities have not improved
very substantially over the past few decades. A fundamental reason for this is the chronic
under investment in Railways, which has led to congestion and over-utilisation. As a
consequence, capacity augmentation suffers, safety is challenged and the quality of service
delivery declines, leading to poor morale, reduced efficiency, sub-optimal freight and
passenger traffic, and fewer financial resources. This again feeds the vicious cycle of
under-investment. This cycle must be put to an end. …”
The mission, the minister said, is to “reorganise, restructure, rejuvenate Indian Railways”.

No easy task

Given the size of the mammoth organisation this is not going to be easy, and nearly
impossible without resorting to information technology (IT). The numbers show why
human intervention alone is not enough. The Railways carries more than 23 million
passengers over a route of 66,000 km, passing through more than 7,100 railways stations
and employing over 1.3 million people. These overwhelming statistics disclose the millions
of contact points with passengers and the information (data) that this throws up can lead to
actionable insights.

The need is to apply analytics to the Big Data churned out encompassing all aspects —
millions travelling long distance at any given time, ticket reservations, passengers
commuting over shorter distances in the millions (the Mumbai rail network, for example),
sales points of various items in stations; locomotives, passenger and freight cars,
maintenance and service, weighing, loading, dispatching and unloading freight, vendor
management, hundreds of thousands of staff at work across the country!
Railway management and Disaster Management

Big Data Analytics is helping Indian railways in determining routes, service price, freight
management, safety measures and maintenance. Apart from this it has been found useful
during calamities and disasters. Given the huge number of passengers travelling through
railways every day, and the many classifications of data for each service, proper utilisation
of data isn’t an easy task. The use of Big Data tools has not only increased the speed but
also the efficiency of Indian railways.

Moreover using analytical tools and IoT a proper disaster avoiding framework can be
developed such that a real time scenario can be analyzed and disasters can be avoided.

IRCTC Ticketing management and better service

Most of us would be acquainted with the e-ticketing portal IRCTC of the Indian Railways.
Earlier the site would get paralyzed as soon as the clock ticked 10. But that’s not the case
now. IRCTC which books 13 lakh tickets per day on an average, has not only improved its
speed but also the way it serves its customers. These improvements have been possible
because of the use of Big Data Analytics. Determining the frequent travelers, same train
travelers, long route travelers and more using analytics has helped Indian Railways serve
better.
E-catering and Service

Considering the huge number of long distance passengers that Indian railways serve each
day, catering food is an important part. But to serve better the choice of food must change
w.r.t area. Moreover the cost of food is also a matter of importance. Big Data Analytics can
be used to cater food at reasonable rates at the same time making it profitable for the
catering department. Analytics can also be used to expel the unnecessary cost that has been
a concern for the catering department of Indian railways. Moreover it can help in better
servicing at relevant locations when the train gets delayed.
 3. Techniques/Technology of BA used by the Railways

3.1 PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS

Predictive Analytics uses historical data to make predictions about events in the future…
The Rail Industry is gathering actionable data at an unprecedented rate. As an example,
consider the evolution of Positive Train Control systems that leverage devices and systems
across a diverse network (truly a functioning Internet of Things (IoT)). PTC not only
generates real-time data, but ultimately, this information is stored as valuable historical data
enabling better insights and more informed business decisions for the future.

Added to the information generated from deployed PTC systems is the considerably large
historical data stores already maintained in railroad industry databases. These data stores
can be accessed through effective data mining, data modeling and statistical software tools
to significantly impact operational efficiency.

A thumbnail survey of areas in the Rail Industry were predictive analytics can help include:

● Safety and inspection processes

● Railcar, locomotive and rail maintenance cycles
● Fuel and labor cost management
● Traffic, scheduling (e.g. bad stops) and rail network management
● Environmental and health management actions

The challenge with managing big data and in using data analytics effectively, according to
many IT executives, is complex. In particular, the multitude of available data sources calls
for an IT analytics architecture that supports a more agile “presentation side” system
backstopped by a robust, service oriented middle layer. This, many feel, is key to building
an analytics platform that is integrated (fully) and flexible, and at the same time,
technologically agnostic.

In the end the goal is worthy for predictive analytics – to provide Rail Industry managers
with the information needed to make proactive rather than reactive decisions.

3.2 PRESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS

Focusing on service and productivity improvements can help to lower the operating ratio,
increase levels of safety and guarantee on-time performance. Revenue can be positively
impacted through service efforts tied to quicker turnaround, better reliability, faster transit
and improved frequency. In addition, lower operating expenses can result from productivity
efforts tied to train density, fuel optimisation, people efficiency and rolling stock
utilization.These are high-level performance metrics. The most direct benefit of applying
the latest prescriptive analytics technology however, is often simply in preventing
breakdowns of train locomotives.

The latest prescriptive maintenance approaches can guard against this through a
combination of IoT-based, big data and machine learning technology. In line with this, it is
possible to effectively deploy autonomous agents that use sensor-based technology to
recognise changes in equipment conditions. In a typical scenario, anomaly and failure
agents can be deployed to learn precise patterns of normal operating behaviour, excursion
from normal conditions and minuscule pattern changes that lead to known failures.

However, this kind of combination of machine learning and IoT can do much more than
solve the immediate problem. In this scenario, in addition to the corrective maintenance
performed on the engine, the root cause of the problem will be documented, adding to the
operational team’s overall knowledge of the issue. If the failure signature has detected the
failure pattern plus any new pattern data, the agent will be updated to reflect this new
information – and will become more intelligent as a direct result.
That could in turn lead to improved maintenance planning and a more proactive preventive
maintenance operating mode across the organisation, and, critically too, significant cost
savings. By extending out insights gained from analysis of individual or small groups of
locomotives to entire fleets, there are a raft of additional benefits to be accomplished. By
adopting a prescriptive analytics approach, safety levels could be increased, considerable
additional savings could be achieved, operating ratio could be boosted while fuel
consumption could potentially be decreased, and train velocity increased at the same time.

All of these are key goals for any rail transportation provider, of course. That’s why in a
challenging and competitive sector like rail, prescriptive analytics is key and has to
represent the way forward.

3.3 INTERNET OF THINGS

1. Installing the sensors

● IoT devices like sensors find great applications when it comes to the railways. Indian
Railways can make use of these sensors by mounting them on tracks to
● monitor the conditions.
● These sensors can also sense trains movements and transmit information when a train
crosses a location, which will possibly reduce the delay of time.
● The sensors on the track can collect data on the track stress, track conditions,
temperatures and other variables which will significantly reduce the time wasted by
human intervention when it comes to examining these conditions.
● If there is a problem with wagons and tracks, the operators can take pre-emptive
measures for safer operations.
2. Using IoT to Check the Passenger Flow

Using analytics, the operators can already track trains across networks and process data.
Some companies use IoT to check the flow of passengers like the ones waiting at stations,
travelling in coaches and the time when the flow of the passengers is at the peak. All of this
data can help in efficiently scheduling the trains as per commuters’ behavior. The IoT
operators can also make use of weather prediction modelling to check if the routes are
suitable for weather conditions.

3. Using IoT for better user experience

Apart from making things easy for booking tickets, giving scheduling information via smart
phones, IoT can also help in taking the user experience a step further. It can help in making
travel personalised for specific passengers. The IoT systems can be used to understand the
history of customer experience and make significant changes to improve and personalise
their experience.

3.4 Smart Gates and Smart Alarms

Smart gates are something which could impact the flow of trains. These gates can receive
alerts from a selected platform and then raise alarms or signaling red when a train is within
a certain distance. When the train crosses a junction, the status resets and opens the gates.
Apart from these smart gates, the Indian government also plans to use technological
solutions like centralised traffic control, automatic train protection, and automatic
signaling.

Smart alarms are a step toward curbing the trespassing problem. These alarms can receive
information from the sensors on tracks and make a sound when a human is on the tracks,
making it easier for train drivers to make a fix.

3.5 Other Techniques

● The Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System called Train Protection and Warning
System (TPWS) has been implemented on 342 RKMs.
● An ATP System being indigenuously developed called Train Collision Avoidance
System (TCAS) is under trial on 250 RKMs of South Central Railway as a pilot
project.
● Electrical/Electronic Interlocking System with centralized operation of points and
signals are being provided to eliminate human failure and to replace old mechanical
systems.
● Crew Voice/Video recording system ensures the effective and temper proof video
and voice recording of the locomotive cab for post failure event analysis.
● Online Monitoring of Rolling Stock (OMRS) system monitors defective bearing,
wheel flats and defect reports are generated on a real time basis and corrective action
is taken. Of the 65 OMRS planned for installation on Indian Railways network, the
first one has been installed at Panipat Station and the remaining are at various stages
of installation.
● Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILDs) to automatically identify the defective
wheels in Rolling Stock by measuring the impact of wheels on track are operational
in Indian Railways
● Mechanised preheating, Three piece prefabricated mould, Auto Tapping Thimble,
Single short crucible has been provided for improved quality of welding.
● New specifications for Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD) testing machines have
been issued by Research Design & Standards Organization (RDSO) which has
features for location tagging, time stamping of recording and improved scan (B-scan)
capability.
● Thick web Switches & Weldable CMS Crossings have been introduced. This will
help in better track maintenance and safety.
● Advanced Integrated Track Monitoring System (ITMS) and Self Propelled
Ultrasonic Rail Testing (SPURT) cars.
● Indian Railways has already adopted the technological upgradation in safety aspects
of coaches and wagons by way of introducing Modified Centre Buffer couplers,
Bogie Mounted Air Brake System (BMBS). Improved suspension design and
 provision of Automatic fire and smoke detection systems in coaches are being
carried out which would eventually lead to enhanced safety standards.

4. Types of reports and dashboard that can be generated for companies in

the Railway Industry depending upon the business decision making needs
of various levels of managers.

4.1 Power BI Showcase: Rail Crew Analytics

Using the Microsoft Azure Data Platform, Cloud Moyo enabled a Class I railroad operator
to manage its crews better.

The Problem:

After successfully implementing Cloud Moyo’s Rail Crew Management application, the
Class I Railroad wanted to take the solution a notch higher by enabling real-time analytics
to take executive decisions and improve rail crew performance.

The Solution

With its expertise in analytics using the Microsoft Azure Data Platform as well as core
domain knowledge of delivering solutions to railroads, Cloud Moyo developed a cloud-
based data analytics system that analyzed a very high magnitude of data. With the help of
an enterprise Cloud BI architecture, complemented by visually appealing Power BI
dashboards, the railway could now gain unprecedented insight into its business.

Benefits
 ● Enhanced visibility of railway performance with deeper drill down into various
metrics giving the ability to track rail operations
● Presentation of information in easily consumable charts and dashboards helped in
slashing the time to collect data and focusing more on analyzing it
● Role-based reports for top management, operation, and the field
● Following were some key metrics enabled via various modules of Cloud Moyo Crew
Analytics: Train Analyzer, Dwell Analyzer, Crew Analyzer, Crew Pool Analyzer,
Duty Analyzer, Crew Call Analyzer

Value Add

The solution helped the railroad to bring attention to key performance areas which
needed prompt remediation. For e.g.-

● Increase in dwell time for trains at any particular station

● Crew member duty period exceeding 16 hours
● Significant IVR rejections due to seasonality
● The heavy occurrence of dead-heads

4.2 RAIL DRISHTI DASHBOARD

Minister of Railways & Coal, Piyush Goyal has launched Rail Drishti dashboard,
encompassing all the digitisation efforts in Indian Railways and promoting transparency
and accountability. It brings information from various sources on a single platform and
gives access to key statistics and parameters to every citizen of the country. This dashboard
can be accessed using a desktop/laptop or a mobile device such as a phone or tablet. The
application is mobile optimized for ease of use of the public. The URL of the dashboard is
raildrishti.cris.org.in.
The customer or railway passenger will get an exposure through this dashboard to the
multifaceted transformation underway in Indian Railways across the country. The
dashboard will also help make available every kind of information anytime, anywhere to
anybody. The information, when it reaches the weakest section of the society, develops
their morale and instills confidence in them that the country is progressing and is on the
move. The Minister also advised to make the Rail Drishti site simpler, user-friendly and
easy to navigate.

The available information has been categorized under 15 user friendly sections on the
Dashboard:

At A Glance: Gives information on 4 main parameters of Indian Railways. This includes

Passenger Reservation, Unreserved Ticketing, Freight Earnings and Freight Loading. The
parameters of each element for different periods are displayed. Information on any station
on Indian Railways can be viewed in this tab.

Services: Passengers can view and avail the status of any digital service offered. Rail
Drishti consists of 6 services, namely, PNR enquiry, ODC application enquiry, Complaint
Enquiry, Tender Enquiry, Shramik Enquiry and Freight related inquiries. For citizen's
convenience links to eight important railway websites are available here.

Trains On Run: Passengers can now track any train on the Indian Railways Network.
Passengers will also be able to get information about the train as well as the contact number
of the housekeeping staff. Filters are available to view specific trains.

IRCTC Kitchens: The Dashboard provides a facility to view live feeds from the cameras
installed in various IRCTC base kitchens. Passengers can now view how the food being
served to them in trains is being cooked and packed.

Grievances: This section shows status of Grievances reported via Complaint Management
System (COMS). It displays the number of grievances resolved and pending. Zone wise
and Division wise breakup as well as complaint type wise breakup can be viewed via the
Dashboard.

Achievements: Achievements of Indian Railways as a whole and achievements of

Railways in various states can be viewed via the dashboard.

Station Images: The tab monitors the progress of some of the major initiatives launched to
improve passenger experience on the Indian Railways network. It displays the images of
various areas across the network before and after the work has been completed.

Heritage: The tab showcases the cultural aspect of travel on Indian Railways. There are 4
main sections in this tab, this includes, rail heritage, memorable journeys, 360 degree
virtual tours of routes, trains, saloons, and the IRCTC tourism desk which provides
important information and tourist services.

Shramik Kalyan: This section provides information about the unorganized sector working
with Railway contractors. The amount of wages distributed to the casual workers is
available on the dashboard. The same can be seen department wise and zone wise for
various time periods. This is an attempt to ensure that the laborers in the unorganized sector
are paid their dues.

Bills: Bills required to be paid by Indian Railways to suppliers and their duration wise
pendency can be viewed on the dashboard.

Freight Earnings: This section shows earnings of Freight across the Indian Railways
Network. Earnings can be viewed for a day, for a week, for a month and for a year along
with the zones and commodity wise breakup. Performance of nine major freight
commodities has been made available.

Freight Loading/Unloading: Number of rakes and quantity of freight loaded and unloaded
in a day, in a week, in a month and in a year along with their zones and commodity wise
breakup is provided. Performance of nine major freight commodities has been made
available.

Passenger Earnings: This section shows earnings of Passenger Reservations and

Unreserved Ticketing. Number of passengers, tickets, and earnings can be viewed. Further,
in Unreserved Ticketing the performance of suburban, non-suburban, and mobile bookings
can be viewed.

Expenditure: Details of the expenditure and works by the Indian Railways can be viewed.
Figures of four different periods are displayed - performance during the day, during the last
7 days, during the month and for the year.

Sugam - The Freight App: This tab gives access to Indian Railways freight business
information. It helps customers keep track of their consignment. It provides information on
various terminals and associated nodal officers, indents status, prevailing freight rates, rake
allocation plans, restrictions applicable etc. Freight performance and other statistics are also
available on the tab.
 5. How various companies in railway industries at global level use Business
Analytics and suggest how can Indian Companies in the railway industry
benefit their business with such applications.

5.1 Current development in Global Railways Industry

Railways industry concentrated on the emissions aspect and there were more nature
friendly establishments in developments of trains, which led to the idea of green
transportation. However, now digitization has empowered safety and features to the level
that there are reductions in errors, more accurate data, precise reports and analyses,
improved safety and many other aspects are leading the global railways industry to new
heights. Smart transportation is the idea and the importance of incorporating computerized
devices are beginning to show. From marinating the speed of the locomotive to the load it
is taking and how the complete system is performing, is all being used to provide more
efficient services.

Apart from the technology front, usage of fuels and any resource to run the engine is being
taken seriously. Investment in natural gas for next-generation locomotives is underway. In
addition to that, heavy investments are carried out in systems that are compatible with
hydrogen as the performance lasts longer and also more nature friendly. The two resources,
liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen are the two most prominent candidates that are
expected to replace diesel-based engines. As the market appears to be eager to incorporate
LNG more likely as the results are more beneficial with more environment friendly
emissions and financially affordable systems than diesel-based engines.
5.2 United States of America

The United States has by far the largest freight rail system in the world with some 28,000
locomotives, more than 1.4 million rail cars and 140,000 miles of track. Each day
American railroads deliver an average of 5 million tons of goods ranging from clothing to
coal. That’s about 40 percent of freight shipped between cities.

The sensors also improve safety and maintenance. As a train passes by, sensors are able to
pick up measurements such as heat, acoustics signatures and wheel impact and know
whether that rail car is traveling safely. In other words, the sensors can analyze the sound a
train makes and determine, among other things, if a wheel or axle or bearing is operating
within certain parameters or needs to be inspected. If it detects an abnormality, the system
sounds an alarm. The next step is to use analytics to look at all the data from sensors. Then
“you might see patterns emerge that would allow a safer railway because things could be
maintained prior to failure,” and before normally scheduled maintenance. New initiatives
such as Positive Train Control or PTC are coming this year. PTC provides the ability to
virtually control the train – slowing or stopping it, for example, if it’s traveling too fast or
needs to be stopped for safety reasons.

5.3 United Kingdom

Network Rail produces the UK rail timetable, which schedules the movements of over
22,000 trains every weekday across approximately 19,000 miles of track; over 4 million
passengers a day. With demand increasing and problems of overcrowding on the busiest
lines intensifying, Network Rail needed to consider making use of any spare capacity in the
system and adding services to the timetable. To achieve this, it needed to improve both the
accuracy of the existing timetable and the performance of services against it.

Deloitte has worked with Network Rail’s timetable planners to develop a cloud based data
analytics system that utilises the billions of rows of data generated by the railway signaling
system about the movement of trains across the network and validates the timetable
planning rules. The firm’s analysis allows the data to be slimmed down to produce a more
accurate timetable, which in turn will support not only improved performance but also the
ability to maximize rail capacity.

The objectives for the project were defined as:

• Develop a web-accessible system that would host three years’ worth of data from 10
sources, including timetable planning rules, planned timetable and actual train running
times

• Integrate data sources into a cloud based single central repository that is accessible using
analysis software to allow analysis of the integrated data set

• Develop an analytics suite of tools that enable data-mining and visualisation of the
integrated data to validate Timetable Planning Rules.

The resulting solution also had to deliver a key set of functionalities, which included:

• capacity for approximately 2 billion records

• accessible through the web

• capability for a user group to run bespoke reports on request

• raw data to be extracted in a standardised format

• automated upload of future data

Deloitte integrated data from 10 separate sources across Network Rail’s Capacity Planning
department and its Network Operations Business Units into a central “single source of
truth”. The resulting big-data store is accessible via the web, governed and enhanced with
tools to allow review of the actual train running times data using PPM, service
performance, train specification, timetable and other dimensions. This has delivered:

• Standardisation of multiple data sources

• Single version of the truth

• High data quality

• Referential integrity

• Automatic integration of future data into the system.

➢ Analytics suite

The Deloitte team held weekly meetings with Network Rail stakeholders to familiarise
them with the system, answer any queries and incorporate their feedback. This approach
helped to establish and build trust. Deloitte also modeled a series of case scenarios to both
ensure and demonstrate that the data integration was reliable, and

eliminate any surprises when the system was deployed. The solution drew together
Deloitte’s expertise in analytics, visualization and user interface to deliver a system that is
both robust and user-friendly.

➢ User interface

Deloitte’s suite of analytical tools allows Network Rail to:

• Automatically retrieve all relevant information

• View and compare intervals between two adjacent services

• View features and routes of selected services

• Retrieve all track sections between two locations

• Search by operators, train details, PPM, coach type, stock weight, location and track
section in the network

• Train stopping patterns for all sections along a journey

• Compare expected and actual journey times

• View the real variation in running a block of trains and analyse the step by-step train
movement between two locations

• Automatic ordering of track sections between two locations

• Compare services with each other and distinguish journeys by direction of the train.
5.4 Japan

Japanese railways are renowned worldwide for their high levels of reliability and safety.
The Yamanote Line, a loop line around central Tokyo, which is also the world’s largest
transport infrastructure used by 34 million passengers a week, is supported by the Smart
Maintenance.

Each week, 34 million people ride the Yamanote Line, which encircles Tokyo. As the trains
run at 2-3 minutes intervals from early in morning till late at night, it is difficult to operate
and manage the maintenance activity efficiently without interrupting train service.
However, the introduction of smart maintenance using IoT technology allows the collection
and analysis of enormous amounts of data from trains and rails in real time, making it
possible to detect minor changes and to predict failures well in advance. As the issue of
aging transport infrastructure attracts a new level of attention around the world, smart
maintenance will offer a novel solution to keep infrastructure in safe condition.

Currently, we collect daily data while our trains are running, using sensors attached to the
railcars.

As an example, we monitor the status of rails and power lines in real time, together with
railcar equipment such as the mechanisms used to operate the doors. Analyzing the large
volume of data captured enables a much more rational approach to maintenance than was
previously possible.

Improving transport quality and carrying out high-quality maintenance embodied in the
smart maintenance approach, will fundamentally transform railway maintenance.

We’re trialing a smart maintenance system on the Yamanote Line known as CBM, or
Condition Based Maintenance, which uses the Internet of Things (IoT) technology to
enable the high-frequency collection and analysis of equipment and railcar status data. It
helps identify equipment weaknesses, forecast railcar failures, and efficiently carry out
repairs, to make safe, reliable railway operation possible.
This approach enables us to provide safe, consistent rail service more efficiently. We
believe this technology, which is being built for the Yamanote Line, the world’s most
congested rail line, can transform railway maintenance around the world.

Smart maintenance will trigger a revolution in the world’s transportation infrastructure.

5.5 Benefits to Indian Companies

● Accurately transferring information
● Consequent improvement in efficiency
● Help portray Future Challenges
● Make Strategic decisions
● As a perfect blend of data science and analytics
● Reduction in Costs
● Improved Decisions
● Share information with a larger audience
● Ease in Sharing information with stakeholders
 6. Government initiatives

Few recent initiatives taken up by the Government are:

● In February 2019, Indian Railways decided to launch food packets with QR codes
and give live kitchen feed.
● The speed has been raised to 160 kmph on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi Howrah routes
by 2022-23. The passenger trains have got approval to raise 60 per cent increase in
average speed.
● Under the Union Budget 2019-20, the Government of India allocated the Ministry of
Railways Rs 1,60,176 crore (US$ 22.91 billion).
● Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp. of India Ltd (DFCCIL), is already building the first
two freight corridors—Eastern Freight Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni
(1,856km) and Western Freight Corridor from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port
(1,504km)—at a total cost of Rs 81,000 crore (US$ 11.59 billion).
● As of December 2018, the Government of India is considering a High Speed Rail
Corridor project between Mumbai and Nagpur
● As of November 2018, Indian Railways is planning to come out with a new export
policy for railways.
● The Government of India is going to come up with a ‘National Rail Plan’ which will
enable the country to integrate its rail network with other modes of transport and
develop a multi-modal transportation network.
● A 'New Online Vendor Registration System' has been launched by the Research
Designs & Standards Organization (RDSO), which is the research arm of Indian
Railways, in order to have digital and transparent systems and procedures.
● The Government of India has signed an agreement with the Government of Japan
under which Japan will help India in the implementation of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad
high speed rail corridor along with a financial assistance that would cover 81 per cent
of the total project cost.
 7. References

● https://www.ibef.org/industry/indian-railways.aspx
● https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/data-analytics-for-smart-
railways/article8442289.ece
● https://egov.eletsonline.com/2018/09/5-ways-smart-data-analytics-can-help-
transform-the-way-indian-railways-operates/
● https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-cm/railway-minister-launches-rail-
drishti-dashboard-to-promote-transparency-and-accountability-
119022500651_1.html
● https://analyticsindiamag.com/how-indian-railways-can-use-iot-to-match-up-to-
other-countries/
● https://www.japan.go.jp/technology/innovation/smartmaintenance.html
● http://ivyproschool.com/blog/2017/09/15/how-does-indian-railways-use-data-
analytics/
● https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/consultancy/deloitte-
uk-network-rail.pdf