Mumbai: Launch of Central Railway's Meri Local app postponed

The WR already has a mobile app named Disha. Representation pic

The launch of Central Railway's official mobile app on providing real-time information on tracking local trains has been postponed as it will have to pass rigorous tests before it is made public. The railways now say that it will happen in Diwali. The app involved installing GPS tags on trains to link them with a new mobile application called Meri Local. The system had promised to be more advanced than the station indicator system that is presently operational.

Originally, it was supposed to be launched on August 15. The app involves giving out real-time position of moving trains across its 1,700 services. "The development of the app has been pushed ahead as it needs rigorous testing and checking in field. It will be handed over to working train guards who will check the app for all its aspects and the feedback taken will be collated to make changes before making the app public," a CR spokesperson said.

The app is now in advanced stages of development and will ready after beta-testing.

M-Indicator, a private app developed by software developer Sachin Teke is a very popular platform with Mumbaikars. It has also recently included this live-tracking feature and manages to track down real-time train timings by sharing location updates from commuters.

If you are on the platform, it alerts you of the arrival time of the next train and if you are onboard the train, it asks you if you are "in this train" after which the app asks for your location information. The algorithms then use this to calculate the location of the train.

WR already has Disha

The Western Railway already has such an app called Disha that has been integrated with train management system which help users see the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) of local trains at a particular station.

The schedule of the expected trains on WR is shown in three time slots (30, 45 minutes and one hour) in Disha. It means that if a commuter wants to travel in the next 30 minutes and checks the application, the trains scheduled and expected delay at the station in 30 minutes will be shown on the application.

Also Read: Mumbai: Central Railway and Metro authorities to decongest Ghatkopar station

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