History of FOIS

Initially, the FOIS project was sanctioned and included in the Northern Railway Works Programme for 1983-84, at an abstract cost of Rs 1,098 crore. Phase I envisaged the all-India implementation of core functionalities. This included train and wagon movement control, including the Empty Wagon Management and Locomotive Control modules of the TRACS software, bought from CN. The Yard and Terminal Management System was to be developed indigenously. The implementation of the remaining modules was to follow in Phase II. But the detailed estimate sanctioned was only for implementation of Phase I core modules, only on Northern Railway, at a cost of Rs 267.20 crore.

After necessary modifications, the TRACS-based system was subjected to field trials by the Northern Railway and CRIS. Successive attempts to customise the TRACS software for the Indian Railways operating practices failed, and a committee of experts from IIT Delhi was set up to do a technical study of various aspects of FOIS and to suggest a future course of action. The Committee recommended a review to identify the best suited application and systems architecture, to abandon the TRACS system if necessary, by migrating to state-of-the-art technology.

The Ministry of Railways' accepted these recommendations in January 1998 and, based on an understanding between the Ministry of Railways and the Department of Electronics (DOE), CMC and CRIS were directed to:

	Draw out an overall IT architecture and an approach plan for the implementation and modular growth of FOIS on the Indian Railways.
	Design, develop, and implement prototype systems for rake and terminal management functions on a test bed to demonstrate its efficacy.
	Conduct a techno-economic study of TRACS in the interim and formulate a detailed strategy for implementation of a production system for rake and terminal management functions over a corridor.

New beginnings: The FOIS pilot
CMC and CRIS drafted the overall architecture based on the Railways organisation and hierarchy, as well as its present and future requirements. It relied on consultancy from IBM on best practices abroad, and inputs obtained from visits to foreign railroads. The business model that emerged was shared with the end users through a series of interactions with the chief operating managers and the Railway Board.

The feasibility study of TRACS submitted by CMC in December1998 revealed that the technology was obsolete and incompatible with present-day operating systems and system software available, even on an IBM platform. TRACS was neither Y2K compatible, nor did it support integration of revenue and an operational database. This meant a major rewriting effort, which was risky, time-consuming and expensive.

CMC and CRIS developed a prototype of the Rake Management System (RMS) module of FOIS and deployed it on all the divisions of the Northern Railway. It got a positive response from the users. In the prototype, the basic functions of freight operations were defined to constitute capturing of demand; supply of rakes and wagons; planning and controlling movement; loading, unloading and accounting of freight. The Rake Management System (RMS) is the operating module and the Terminal Management System (TMS) is the commercial module.

Phase I of FOIS addresses rake and train movement, locomotive movement and yard management. Phase II extends the functions of Phase I to include individual wagons. Together, the two phases constitute the RMS or operating portion. Phase III introduces Terminal Management or the commercial portion. Benefits from these two modules can accrue only when an end-to-end sharing of information is achieved. It was therefore, imperative to spread them quickly over the entire Railway network, instead of confining them to a limited corridor.

The Business Model
The current business practice of bulk movement in rake formations is the accepted norm even for the future. Around 80 to 85 per cent of traffic already moves in trainloads, the majority of which comprise rakes of a similar type of rolling stock.

A global perception in real time is required more for tracking of consignments and rakes rather than individual wagons, locomotives and trains. The pipeline of consignments and rakes should be seamlessly available. Information on booking and movement of consignments need to be shared with individual customers.

	Operations and data capturing remain control-centric for rake, locomotives and stock management, and terminal-centric for booking, loading, unloading and delivery.
	Operations and commercial data must be integrated.
	Operations and commercial functions covered by RMS/TMS are global, and must be implemented on an end-to-end basis to be effective.
	Implementation should start from control offices, where computer awareness is of a higher order, instead of from a large number of stations over a limited corridor.
	This approach will yield benefits from the very first phase, during which train/load reporting is done on a load summary/rake basis from control offices. Stock is taken in terms of wagon types and indents are captured as demands for rake movement instead of individual forwarding notes.
	Items of global utility, pipeline and insight for terminals are made available across the Railways network, to manage, control and adjust traffic flows.
	The implementation can be extended for wagon-based reporting, covering one corridor after another on a need basis driven by the Railways itself. The consist is captured at the point of origin, as soon as the invoicing is done for a rake The initiative to add more reporting infrastructure comes from the user.

FOIS: In operation, today
At present, FOIS comprises the Rake Management System (RMS) and the Terminal Management System (TMS). Over 1,400 reporting devices have been commissioned at 350 locations around the country. TMS is functional at 159 locations and this number is expected to grow to 300 by the end of the current year.

Systems architecture
The design conforms to the state-of-the-art client-server technology, using middleware and a relational database management system (RDBMS) on an open platform, making it highly scalable to meet growing requirements. Data from control offices, yards, goods-sheds, etc, is captured through intelligent terminals and sent to the CRIS computer centre through reliable communication links for transaction processing. Application servers at the centre are networked and linked to a central database for global level transactions. The central database provides management reports, both at the Board and Zonal levels and acts as the repository of all current and historical data. The application is interface-ready for web-based services like connectivity to customers, a payment gateway interface and flexible information to both internal and external users.

The FOIS network plan utilises the available terrestrial network of the Indian Railways wherever it has been upgraded and is fit for data transmission. Where it is lacking, telecommunication services are hired from other agencies. The FOIS network plan includes a judicious mix of Railways telecom systems, DoT and a satellite network to ensure reliability.

	Live monitoring of all freight trains, giving their current position (in the area which is computerised) and their expected time of arrival at the destination.
	Commodity-wise flow of freight trains for customers like power houses, refineries, fertiliser and cement plants, steel depots and public freight terminals, enabling the recipients of consignments to get an accurate forecast of cargo arrivals, and giving them adequate time to complete preparatory arrangement to handle the cargo.
	·Monitoring of outbound loaded rakes in the same manner.
	Monitoring of detachments from block rakes, to track wagons being detached at a location or missing.
	·Analysis of total demand for rail transport and its logical matching with incoming rakes, to optimise the supply of empty rakes for loading.
	The system generates as many as 1200 managerial reports

Tangible benefits
There has been a visible reduction in the anxiety levels and mental stress among operating staff. The voluminous and repetitive exchange of data on telephones round the clock has now been replaced by a minimum data input. The improved work environment has significantly simplified planning and execution of assigned tasks.

The Northern Railway and Western Railway use the system to club less-than-trainload consignments into a trainload. This has helped them earn additional revenue, and earned them praise from the trade. Bulk customers like the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Indian Farmers' Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd (IFFCO) are being informed by Email about the status of their consignments regularly and have shown their appreciation of the service. This is a clear indication that the anticipated benefits from FOIS have already begun to accrue.

With FOIS, the Indian Railways has begun an endeavour to provide its bulk customers with complete supply chain management services, taking care of the critical requirements of the nation like oil, coal, steel, cement, foodgrains, etc. It is a framework to integrate rail freight movement with the customers' supply chain systems.

This joint approach was an innovation in itself, a first of its kind in the Indian Industry. Textbook recommendations were translated into action based on the actual field conditions, and a mission-critical application deployed, with interdependencies on transactions taking place at diverse geographical locations.

	A total commitment from the top management of the Railways, from the Railway Ministry to the field.
	A well-researched and properly defined customer focus.
	Innovative change management, with a clear view of the Railways business model.
	User involvement from the conception/design stage, resulting in user ownership.

The project was initially envisaged at a cost of Rs 1,098 crore, and an imported solution was to be implemented. Today, it has actually been commissioned using a totally indigenous solution, at a fraction of the envisaged cost (the expenditure incurred is approximately Rs 250 crore). This underlines the success of the venture.

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