According to recent news by The Indian Express, the first trial run for developing a satellite-based system to warn train drivers of unmanned railway crossings was conducted by ISRO scientists in Ahmedabad. Scientists at the city-based Space Applications Centre (SAC) are now in the process of commercially developing this system that will be fitted on 50 different trains across the country as a second part of the demonstration project.
The demonstration project was carried out by a team of ISRO scientists and Western Railway officials in the first week of January. Under this project, a transmitter connected to GSAT-6 (a communication satellite) was mounted at Vastrapur and Sarkhej level crossings. Thereafter, the team boarded a train — fitted with a hooter that was in turn connected with a similar transmitter and a receiver — running between Gandhigram and Moraiya, near Changodar. All the trial runs were conducted in Ahmedabad.
According to scientists at SAC, the project to build warning systems will be taken forward to cover the entire railway network at a later stage. A GIS (Geographical Information Systems) mapping will be done on the entire route and a GIS map will be created. The system will also be integrated with IRNSS.