The Indian Railways is set to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered surveillance cameras at non-interlocked level crossing gates to prevent accidents and strengthen the safety of train operations.

In a non-interlocked level crossing, once a train is cleared to proceed from the nearest railway station, the gateman is responsible for closing and locking the gate and confirming its closure to the Station Master by exchanging a private number (PN), railway sources said. At present, the Station Master has to rely largely on the gateman’s confirmation, as there is no direct means of verifying whether the gate has actually been closed.

To strengthen monitoring, advanced CCTV cameras are being installed at all non-interlocked level crossings. The solar-powered cameras will provide live video feeds to the Station Master of the nearest railway station and the engineering control room, enabling railway officials to monitor the level crossing in real time.

As an additional safety measure, the General Managers of Zonal Railways have been instructed to introduce AI-based alerting features, with appropriate safeguards and accuracy thresholds. The system is expected to generate alerts if a level crossing gate remains open or is not closed within the required time.

Cuddalore accident

The Railway Board had ordered the installation of CCTV cameras at all non-interlocked level crossing gates following the tragic accident in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu on July 8, 2025, in which three schoolchildren were killed and two others injured after a train rammed into a school van at a manned level crossing. The level crossing gate had been allegedly left open even though the gateman informed the Station Master concerned that it had been closed. The train subsequently hit the school van.

The introduction of AI-enabled CCTV surveillance is expected to address this critical safety gap. With real-time monitoring, the Station Master from where the train is authorised to depart and officials in the engineering control room would be able to ascertain whether the level crossing gate has been closed, before the train is allowed to proceed, the sources said. The AI-enabled system could also provide an additional layer of protection by alerting railway officials to an open gate, allowing timely intervention.

Published - August 11, 2026 11:20 pm IST