Indian Railways launches its first consolidated Bridge Management System

The Indian Railways on July 12, 2018 launched its first consolidated Bridge Management System (IR-BMS), a web-enabled IT application that will store data on its 1.5 lakh railway bridges.
 
The system was launched by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. The launch comes days after a bridge in Mumbai collapsed on a railway track.

BMS aims to enable meaningful assimilation, analysis and dissemination of information related to various activities about its bridges.

The web-based platform will show the bridge master data, works data, information regarding inspection/monitoring and maintenance of the bridges and other essentials.

In-house Station Beautification Contest

• On the same occasion, Piyush Goyal also felicitated the artists who worked to beautify the stations under the In-house Station Beautification Contest. Their work won them the top prize in the contest.

• This innovative competition was organised among zonal railways in December 2017.

• The initiative involved wall art of paint and graffiti or local arts with participation of local artists, private groups and volunteers.

• More than 62 stations across zonal railways were beautified under this initiative by utilising skills of local artists, mostly using local art form, painting style, local themes or contemporary arts.

• This initiative provided forum for expression of the emerging talents in the area and visibility of local art forms to the travellers.

• An evaluation committee of senior officials the railways ministry was constituted to judge the entries of the stations who participated in this initiative.

• The entries were evaluated on the basis of a number of criterion, including depiction of local subjects, culture, themes, overall harmony of art with the station colours, type of art form used and quality of work done.

o Balharshah and Chandrapur railway stations in Maharashtra from the Central Railway were awarded the first prize.
o The Madhubani station of the East Central Railway and Madurai station of Southern Railway were the co-winners of the second prize.
o Gandhidham station of the Western Railway, Kota station of the West Central Railway and Secunderabad station of the South Central Railway were joint winners of the third prize.

• As a token of appreciation, the prize winning entries were awarded cash rewards Rs 10 lakh for the first prize, Rs 5 lakh for the second prize and Rs 3 lakh for the third prize.