new train enquiry website

The Indian Railways has pulled the plug on Rail Radar and Train Enquiry, and launched its own Train Enquiry system. An announcement on the new train enquiry website informs visitors that, starting September 6th 2013, they should use http://enquiry.indianrail.gov.in/ntes/ instead of Rail Radar and TrainEnquiry.com. Rail Yatri, which had launched the Rail Radar and Train Enquiry that have now apparently been shelved have declined to comment: we contacted them after receiving a note from a user unable to access Rail Radar. Note that CRIS (the Central Reservation Information Systems) had launched Rail Radar at our #NAMA conference last year.
An announcement in the press (read this) calls the new Train Enquiry, as “a new, enhanced interface”, which frankly, is a ridiculous assertion if you compare the ugly new interface and user experience with what existed just a week ago. To put things into context, we’ve moved from:

and

to

It’s not just the interface, but the experience is also much worse: it’s ridiculous that the CRIS version of Train Enquiry asked me to fill out a CAPTCHA form before I could access the page.
This switch from Rail Yatri to CRIS is also a surprising move, especially given that, just last month Rail Yatri recently launched Rail Wisdon, an initiative for collecting (crowdsourcing) information relevant for train travelers – information such as which exit to leave the station from, which train stations the doors usually are locked at, interesting food and tourist places near train stations, among other things. Rail Wisdom is still available on the RailYatri website.
Our Take
Why should CRIS have a monopoly on railways information, and decide who uses this information and how? Why can’t they just release an API, so that, not just Rail Yatri, but anyone who wants to pull their train timings data can use it as they deem fit? Think of online and mobile travel guides that can integrate live train information. If someone can do a better job of it than CRIS, then why not? By monopolising information, CRIS is limiting consumer benefit.
For the Indian Railways, which is a public sector undertaking, the focus should be on making it easier for users to get the information they need, and for this, they need to be less territorial about it. What’s better for consumers is what matters, and the switch that we have seen here is a significant step backward.

Smokers Beware! Railways to Install Smoke Detection in Coaches

Indian Railways has decided to install fire and smoke detection system on its coaches to check smoking inside trains and also to send alarm in case of initial stages of fire, thereby giving valuable time for shifting to safe areas and evacuation.
The automatic fire and smoke detection system was tested on trial basis on Very Early Warning Smoke Detection System (VEWSD) strategy to detect smoke/fire at incipient stage of smoke, fire through continuous multipoint sampling and analysis of coach environment. The system is suitable for controlled environment in AC coaches only.
There are 4 alarm levels which will be introduced as Alert, Action, Fire-1 and Fire-2. Depending on severity of fire, the passengers will be taken to safety. The system has been subjected to trials on Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani. During trial period, two actual fire incidents were detected by the system in two coaches of Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani and timely warning was sent saving loss of property and life, said authorities.
Rail Coach Factory has recently installed this system on one more rake of LHB Rajdhani dispatched to Northern Railway which will be used to run 12454/12453, New Delhi Ranchi Rajdhani train.
Based on the feedback from this trial, Research Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO), a research wing of the Ministry of Railways, has improved on the specification and also made provision of interfacing the system with the air brake system of the coaches so that in the event of Fire-2 alarm, train gets stopped before hooter is sounded. It will ensure that passenger can safely get down without panic. The arrangement has been tried on the Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani. The system is also planned to be fitted on more rakes in the current year.