Guwahati, April 26 (PTI): Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, (IITG) and the North East Frontier Railway (NFR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on research projects aiming at improving maintenance and operations of train running in the region and other fields, an official said on Monday.
The institute will also support the NFR to make its stations plastic-free by providing alternate biodegradable polymer-based technologies, IITG Director Prof T G Sitharam said in a statement.
Sitharam said that under the MoU, the NFR and IITG will jointly execute projects in the areas of geo-technical assistance, structure, bridges, Information Technology, overhead equipment, signalling and safety assessment, Artificial Intelligence-based predictive maintenance systems and Internet of Things design features.
The collaboration will also ensure improving maintenance and operations of rolling stock, yards, train operations and green technologies, the statement said.
The two organisations will also work for developing world-class railway stations in the areas under the NFR, it said.
The NFR is one of the 17 railway zones of the Indian Railways and is responsible for the operation and expansion of railway network across Northeastern states and some districts of Bihar and West Bengal.
The MoU was signed recently by IITG's Dean, Research and Development, Vimal Katiyar and the NFR's Chief Planning and Design Engineer, Yogesh Verma, in the presence of Sitharam.
Verma said that a multi-disciplinary approach would be adopted to find solutions to the problems faced by the NFR in improving maintenance and operations of train running and other identified fields.
IITG will take a lead to provide cutting edge technical know-how and training support in multi-facet areas to fulfil the requirements of the NFR, Katiyar said.
