“There is an immense value addition of Blockchain Adoption towards creating efficient, secure, accountable and safer railway operation.” Alok Gupta | CEO | ChainCode Consulting LLP “

The Indian railway industry has been a crucial part of the country’s infrastructure for over a century. It serves millions of passengers daily, and freight trains transport essential goods across the country’s vast landscape. However, with such a vast and complex system, bottlenecks always arise, from signal and device failures to maintenance issues, vendor management, and fraudulent activities. Blockchain technology has emerged as a potential solution to many problems recently. The recent workshop organized by ChainCode Consulting LLP has shown just how transformative this technology can be.

The “Workshop on Blockchain Technology” for Indian Railways was a three-day event that brought together railway leaders, experts, and officials from various zones across the country, including Zonal Railways, CTIs, PUs, and the Railway Board.

The event was held at the National Academy of Indian Railways in Vadodara, where railway leaders and experts shared insights on various aspects of the railway industry that can be improved by adopting blockchain technology. Industry Think Tanks & Railway leaders Shri Sudhir Kumar (DG/NAIR), Shri Ashok Kumar (DG/IRICEN), Shri Narendra N Shukla (CTO & Business Head – ChainCode), Shri Kanwaljeet Singh Nirman (Sr. Business Development Manager – ChainCode), Dr Satya N Gupta (𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 – 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐏𝐯𝟔 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 | 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 – 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦), Ms Manjula Saxena, Prof Vijay Malviya and Anurag Agrawal (𝐂𝐄𝐎 – 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡) were in attendance.

During the workshop, ChainCode shared valuable insights on the latest advancements in global railway operations using blockchain and other emerging tech to boost operational efficiency, foster secure railway operations, and enhance accountability and safety. In addition, certain specific Use Cases for the nextgen railway industry were also discussed at this epic event.

• One of the most significant challenges in the current railway industry is signal and device failure, which can lead to accidents and unaccounted delays leading to poor Customer Experience. In the workshop, experts discussed how predictive maintenance and remote diagnostics using blockchain / IoT / AI could help prevent such critical failures before they occur.
• Another area where blockchain and emerging tech can significantly impact is the  maintenance/warranty end-to-end remote traceability of locos, wagons, and coaches in real time. With a regulated maintenance solution enabled by smart contracts, the railway industry can automate and streamline periodic / scheduled / on-demand maintenance needs.
• Vendor management is another avenue where blockchain emerging tech can holistically add value to the railway industry. An automated vendor rating system using smart contracts can help ensure transparency and incorporate higher accountability practices while providing a healthy and cost-effective competitive environment within the vendor ecosystems. This will help increase transparency and fair play leading to optimized cost and quality of operations for the railway industry, providing a definite surge in Customer Satisfaction.
• Ticketing management is a business-critical aspect of the railway industry. The adoption of blockchain and emerging tech can help provide a highly available, real-time, automated futuristic ticketing solution providing information on seat [availability, fares, blocks, inventory], automated ticket validation and itinerary. This will improve the overall safety and accountability of the railway system while curbing corruption and promoting fair dynamic ticket prices.
• Spare parts management is another area where the adoption of blockchain and emerging tech can improve end-to-end traceability, stock inventory insights, automated stock replenishments, and better recall management for faulty spare parts.

The proposed framework for adopting blockchain technology in the railway industry includes a self-sovereign and sustainable private blockchain, IoT and AI integration, smart contracts, dynamic NFTs, and the forthcoming Railways Metaverse story. The private enterprise blockchain will enable Indian Railways to achieve a transparent, accountable and resilient system that can be quickly deployed, adopted and scaled for the masses.

The use of smart contracts will automate and streamline maintenance solutions, vendor management, ticketing management, and spare parts management, leading to improved traceability, efficiency and reduced cost of operations. This results in an exponential surge in customer trust and satisfaction.

The suggested Railways Metaverse will provide a platform for R&D, Railway technical training, and trainee/trainer experiences, contributing to an improved, updated and efficient Knowledge Management System.

At the workshop, attendees gained valuable insights into these and other aspects of the railway industry that could be improved by adopting blockchain technology. The attendees left with a newfound appreciation for the possibilities of blockchain products and solutions in the railway industry and the world.

ChainCode Consulting LLP is a leading consulting and product development firm specializing in blockchain and emerging technology. With a team of experts passionate about this paradigm’s potential, we have worked on several successful projects in various industries, from finance and healthcare to supply chain management and logistics. We aim to help companies and organizations harness the power of blockchain and emerging technology to improve efficiency, security, traceability and transparency.