Western Railway on Tuesday launched ‘SUGAMRAIL’, a smart digital monitoring system for lifts, escalators and earthing pits across its network. This is the first-of-its-kind software-based platform on Indian Railways designed to provide real-time data and improve infrastructure management, an official statement said.
According to a press release issued by Vineet Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, the new system has been developed under the leadership of Vivek Kumar Gupta, General Manager of Western Railway.
Earlier, the inspection and maintenance of these systems relied on manual records kept at various depots, often resulting in delays and missed faults.
With SUGAMRAIL, more than 470 lifts and escalators and around 21,500 earthing pits are now tracked on a centralised digital dashboard, which is accessible to railway officials at both the division and headquarters levels, it said.
The platform automatically alerts staff about failures, overdue inspections, or frequent faults. It uses Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and Maintenance Compliance Rate to assess reliability and ensure timely action, the statement said.
The system ensures round-the-clock visibility of equipment health, automatically flags repeated failures or overdue inspections and enables timely intervention with high compliance, it said.
It further said that this system not only improves efficiency but also enhances passenger safety and comfort — especially for senior citizens, persons with disabilities (Divyangjan), and women travelling with children.
The digital tracking of lift and escalator performance ensures faster attention to breakdowns, benefitting senior citizens, Divyangjan passengers and women travelling with children. Simultaneously, the structured monitoring of earthing resistance helps prevent electrical hazards and ensures strict adherence to safety standards at stations and railway establishments.
The officials said that the digital monitoring of earthing resistance will also reduces the risk of electrical hazards at stations and other railway sites, adding that the platform stands as a model of innovation designed to address evolving demands in public service delivery.
“By replacing old manual registers with a smart, analytics-backed system, Western Railway has shown its dedication to using technology for better services and safety. With SUGAMRAIL, Western Railway sets a new standard for railway infrastructure management and smart governance,” an official said.
