Guwahati: The Northeast Frontier Railway has launched an artificial intelligence-based system to improve the safety of freight wagons, developed with IIT Guwahati.

The system, called Project DRISHTI, was inaugurated at NFR headquarters in Maligaon, Guwahati, on September 25, 2026, according to Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma.

DRISHTI uses high-speed cameras, intelligent lighting, secure networking and AI to monitor freight wagon doors, locks and seals. As trains pass designated monitoring points, it identifies wagon numbers, checks whether seals and locks are intact, and records findings digitally.

NFR General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava said freight transport is critical to the region’s economy, as railways are a lifeline where difficult terrain makes road transport hard. He said manual checks of doors and seals were slow and challenging, especially at night and in bad weather.

The system is designed to detect possible irregularities or pilferage during transit in time for action, easing the work of Railway Protection Force and commercial staff.

It could be scaled to other freight corridors once validated.