Indian Railways upgrades 40-year-old reservation system with AI features - Big update for passengers!

Railways’ new AI-based reservation system: For passengers in India, Indian Railways is a lifeline. A huge segment of the population travels by train every day, booking train tickets at a vast level. With this, it is frequently observed that travellers encounter various issues, such as a slow server while booking the ticket or others. To resolve these issues, Indian Railways is now undertaking a complete overhaul of its 40-year-old Passenger Reservation System (PRS). This new system will be powered by AI technology, making the ticket booking process faster and more seamless than ever before. Let’s understand how it will function.

Reservation system upgrade

Indian Railways first introduced internet-based ticket booking in 2002. Since then, online ticketing has grown rapidly across the country. The current railway reservation system was introduced in 1986 and has gone through several smaller updates over the years.

Indian Railways will start migrating trains to its upgraded passenger reservation system from August, aiming to offer smoother ticket bookings, AI-powered updates, and improved passenger services.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the transition plans during a meeting at Rail Bhawan and asked officials to ensure passengers do not face inconvenience during the shift from the existing 40-year-old system.

AI-powered railway booking system: Here’s what we know so far

On May 7 at Rail Bhawan, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a review meeting with officials and issued directions to ensure that passengers do not face any inconvenience during the transition of trains from the 40-year-old reservation system to the upgraded system. Union Ministers of State for Railways, V. Somanna and Ravneet Singh Bittu, were also present in the meeting.

Indian Railways is introducing a new AI-powered feature that will predict whether a waitlisted ticket is likely to get confirmed before travel. The system will analyse historical booking patterns, cancellation trends and passenger data to estimate confirmation chances in advance.

According to the Railways, the AI-based prediction mechanism is expected to deliver up to 94 per cent accuracy, improving prediction accuracy from 53 per cent.

Indian Railways will begin shifting trains to its upgraded passenger reservation system from August, with a focus on smoother ticket booking, AI-powered updates and better passenger services.

The railway reservation system has witnessed several key milestones. In 2002, Indian Railways introduced internet-based ticketing. Today, the system has become so popular that most people no longer approach ticket counters.

Currently, nearly 88% of total ticketing demand in the country is fulfilled through online channels. The RailOne mobile app is rapidly gaining popularity among passengers. It was launched in July last year. In less than a year, it has recorded over 3.5 crore downloads across the country.

One of the biggest reasons for its popularity is that the app not only provides all railway-related information to the common man but also resolves complaints related to ticketing and other services.