tech2 News Staff

Due to loss of critical evidence in the rescue operations following an accident, the Indian Railways plan to deploy drones to photograph the site of the accidents soon after they occur.

The drones will be placed on strategic locations along the tracks. The move is suggested by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabu according to a report in The Hindu. The basic purpose of the accident inquiry is to pinpoint the cause of failure, but the rescue and restoration work tends to compromise if not destroy the evidence.

As the evidence is usually collected much after the accident, the inquiry invariably results in a game where everyone involved tries to avoid the blame, because of which the real cause of the accident is often not identified.

158 people have died, and 450 have been injured in the 237 accidents that have taken place over the course of the last two years. The Indian Railways has previously indicated that it will be using drones for inspecting the progress of new projects, as well as monitoring tracks for safety before trains pass over them.

The move is the latest in a series of measures that use technologies to improve the safety of rail passengers in India. The French firm Thales provided the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), an advanced signalling system used in Europe. A number of systems are in the process of being deployed, including derailment detection devices, on board diagnostics, rail flaw detection systems, track management systems, and advanced imaging technologies to assist motormen.