The recent tragic train accident in India, which claimed the lives of more than 288 people and left over 1000 injured after the collision of three trains (two passenger trains and one cargo train), should serve as a wake-up call for Africa. It’s not just a reminder for railway operators, regulatory authorities, and technology companies, but also a demand for political accountability in the face of potential disasters.
The sorry state of railway maintenance and outdated signaling systems in Africa is a ticking time bomb. We cannot afford to wait for our own tragedy to strike before taking action. It is imperative to upgrade existing systems and embrace the latest technologies, ensuring a fully integrated and technologically advanced railway network across the continent.
African nations should revolutionize their transportation systems by particularly embracing the Internet of Things (IoT) in railways. They must aspire to make real-time data processing and transmission to Operation Control Centers (OCC), remote cloud storage, and seamless train-to-train communication the norm.
Imagine a railway system where trains know their exact positions, can detect obstacles ahead, and engage emergency brakes to avert disasters. This is not a distant dream; it’s a reality that Africa needs to embrace urgently. Lidar sensors, cameras, GPS, automatic self-driving capabilities, and emergency braking systems integrated into Positive Train Control Systems (PTCS) are the tools we need to make this a reality.
But upgrading infrastructure alone is not enough. We need politicians to prioritize the safety and well-being of their citizens over short-term gains. Given the substantial initial capital investment and the countless lives dependent on railway transportation, it is imperative to protect railway infrastructure.
Redundant online systems, including software and cloud-based Train and Infrastructure Condition Monitoring Systems (TCMS), should be implemented and monitored by both operators and manufacturers, particularly for critical systems like signaling, which played a role in the India and Greece collision cases.
Overall, the integration of PTCS, ETCS (European Train Control System), TCMS, and the entire CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) system would undoubtedly have prevented this catastrophic event. Therefore, it is not only a call to railway operators across Africa, including Kenya, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Congo, Morocco, Nigeria, and others, to ensure they operate with the most up-to-date technologies.
As well, it is a call to railway authorities to strengthen regulations and ensure regular technological updates. Furthermore, railway technology manufacturers should prioritize promoting these technologies as mandatory requirements before trains operate within a specific interval, with mandatory updates as needed.
In this day and age, there is no excuse for not utilizing the latest available technology, regardless of geographical location. Adopting these advancements will not only help prevent tragedies like those witnessed in India and Greece, but will also mitigate infrastructure losses, reduce injuries, and prevent financial burdens on operators due to compensation and infrastructure replacement.
