Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Mar 18: In a landmark initiative, the Ministry of Railways and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have finalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby Railway Ministry will be able to avail of Space Technology and satellite imaging to expand its rail network as well as to use it in other areas of Railway services.
The MoU was signed at Rail Bhavan here by senior officers from the Ministries of Railway and Space respectively, and formally ratified by Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Minister of State for Space, Dr Jitendra Singh. Also present during the signing ceremony were MoS Railways Manoj Sinha, Secretary Space & Chairman ISRO Kiran Kumar and Chairman Railway Board A.K. Mittal.
Speaking on the occasion, Suresh Prabhu said, as Railway Ministry starts using the facilities of Space Technology in one or two areas of work, they will gradually be able to discover and understand where else too, the Space Technology can be used for betterment of rail expansion and rail services. He said, geo-spatial is the most upgraded technology with wide range of applications.
Suresh Prabhu also spelt out several initiatives included in the Railway Budget presented by him and said, very soon, all these budget announcements will be implemented on the ground, one after the other.
Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated the Railway Ministry for having realised the vast potential of Space Technology to carry out survey for laying of new rail tracks. He said, this collaboration can be further extended by using satellite imaging to manage railway crossings, to detect suspicious activities at sensitive areas and to help in running of trains during fog weather.
Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed that within last twenty months of the present Government, the Space Department has spread out its areas of activity and it is no longer confined to mere launching of satellites or rockets. He referred to another MoU recently finalized with the Union Ministry of Urban Development wherein the Department of Space will offer its technical know-how in building of “Smart” Cities.
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