India’s WR Real-Time Monitoring App Aims To Boost VT Uptime

India’s Western Railway (WR) has developed a real-time monitoring app for vertical-transportation (VT) equipment serving suburban Mumbai stations, including 122 escalators and 69 elevators, the Hindustan Times is among outlets to report. Through centralized control, maintenance staff receive audio-visual alerts on the mobile or web app to address VT breakdowns as soon as they occur, thereby increasing VT passenger availability. The system also generates a warning when a piece of equipment is overdue for maintenance. WR has received frequent complaints about VT equipment not working. The 106 escalators serving stations between Churchgate and Virar, for instance, stopped 193,000 times in 2023. This was often due to people — either porters or pranksters — pressing the emergency-stop button. A member of a passenger railway association recommended the app be connected to CCTV cameras to catch miscreants in the act.