All wagons to be RFID tagged by December 2022

Indian Railways is on a mission to RFID Tag all wagons by December 2022. The Indian Railways will complete this process of fitting Radio-Frequency Identification Tags (RFID) in all the wagons by December 2022. These tags will be used for tracking all wagons.

  • So far 23000 wagons have been covered under RFID project. 
  • The Project is still in progress and continuing, although this work has been slowed for some time due to pandemic Covid 19. 
  • Government has fixed the deadline for fitting of RFID in all the wagons of Indian Railway till December 2022.
  • Currently, Indian Railway is maintained such data manually, which leaves scope for errors. 
  • Using RFID devices will be easier for the railways to know the exact position of all the wagons, locomotives and coaches.
  • While the RFID tag will be fitted in the rolling stock, trackside readers will be installed at stations and key points along the tracks to read the tag from a distance of about two meters and transmit the wagon identity over a network to a central computer.
  • In this way, each moving wagon can be identified and its movement tracked.
  • With the introduction of RFID, the issue of shortage of wagons, locomotives and coaches is expected to be addressed in a more transparent and expeditious manner.

Source: PIB-Press Release | Image Credit (representational): Central Railway