The Indian Railways has successfully completed a large-scale trial of an Artificial Intelligence program designed to address a long-standing issue – waiting lists. This marks a new era in how the Railways manages its large inventory of berths. The AI-driven module, called ‘Ideal Train Profile’, was able to reduce the waiting list by “five to six per cent”, resulting in more confirmed tickets being available at the time of booking.
Developed by the Railways’ in-house software arm, Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), the ‘Ideal Train Profile’ was provided with information on about 200 long-distance trains, including the Rajdhanis. The AI module processed patterns such as booking behaviors, popular origin-destination pairs, and vacant seat information for different parts of the journey.
The module was able to process a wide range of training data sets, allowing it to learn about various ticket combinations. It also analyzed passenger behavior during train halts to further enhance its capabilities.
The ‘Ideal Train Profile’ was made live at the start of the Advanced Reservation Period, covering passenger reservation systems in seven zonal railways. This trial was conducted to iron out any issues before the peak holiday period, when the demand for confirmed tickets is the highest.
Railway officials have acknowledged that many potential users turn away due to the inability to secure confirmed tickets. The AI module aims to address this issue by optimizing seat quotas and ticket distribution in real-time, potentially increasing revenue for the Railways.
With the successful completion of the trial, there is hope for the future of the Indian Railways. The AI module is expected to bring in additional revenue and improve accuracy as it continues to learn and evolve.
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