Reducing inspection time to detect defects in Indian railways by introducing new methods of inspection

The railways are one of the oldest modes of travelling and largest modes of transportation for people and goods in India. Especially the middle class and the poor is highly dependent on the Indian Railways, who use this transportation to travel daily. The Indian Railways carries more than 20 million people daily, excluding the luggage and goods that are transported by the trains as well. One of the busiest routes in India is the Manikgarh to Peddapalli route where around 10,000 people travel by train between these two cities daily which is an approximate 40.37 Gross Million Ton per Annum per km. This gives the estimation of how overused and the tremendous pressure the rail tracks undergo daily. Train derailment is a common accident that happens everywhere around the world. These derailments cause several casualties and heavy losses to the government. This is an issue in India; however, the risk in India is at a greater scale than that of the other countries, mainly because of the number of people it carries daily and the high pressure that is put on the rail lines. The method of checking the tracks in India is mostly ultrasonic inspection where the linemen walk along the tracks and check them. India had implemented the use of ultrasonic crack detection sound system, which produces results, but with several drawbacks. The infrared camera is an instrument that can detect cracks in metal, highlighting the major damages that would be on the metal. In this research, the infrared camera is used to detect the cracks and other damages on the rail tracks that can lead to derailment. The tests are conducted between the busy Manikgarh and Peddapalli stations. The video is taken from the camera and tested