Newz Desk, Durgapur: In a major step toward securing freight movement, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is preparing to deploy a new artificial intelligence–based monitoring system designed to curb theft from goods trains. The system, known as DRISHTI (Digital Railway Intelligent SEAL-Health Tracking & Inspection), has been developed by the mechanical engineering team at the Technology Innovation Hub of IIT-Guwahati.
NFR officials said the railway zone had signed an MoU with IIT-Guwahati in November 2024 to create a smart surveillance tool capable of detecting tampering and suspicious activity. Over the past year, the prototype was built and subsequently tested across multiple NFR divisions, with all trial runs reported as successful.
Freight theft has long been a persistent challenge for the zone. Items loaded onto wagons often go missing during loading and unloading operations. Additionally, when trains halt at isolated locations, miscreants are known to climb onto wagons and steal goods. With no onboard security personnel—apart from the driver—such incidents have been difficult to prevent, particularly when trains are in motion.
Officials noted that open windows and doors of wagons frequently facilitate theft. Manual checks, while routine, are insufficient to tackle pilferage that occurs mid-transit.
The new AI-driven system aims to close these gaps. DRISHTI is equipped with round-the-clock live video streaming, wireless transmission, automated lock-and-seal inspection, real-time alert generation, and digitised reporting features. It can capture images at high speed, interpret visual data with AI, and instantly flag anomalies such as unlocked wagon doors or unusual movement—even when the train is running.
According to the NFR, these alerts will be sent through a dedicated surveillance application, enabling faster intervention by railway staff.
K.K. Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer of the NFR, said the introduction of DRISHTI would significantly reduce losses, save operational time, and improve the security of freight operations. He added that installation of the system in freight trains is likely to begin by the end of November.
