Around 80 per cent of railway tickets in Indian Railways are sold online and the digitisation of railway services and databases is an ongoing process, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared on Sunday in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
“Mobile application on various platforms is also available for booking reserved and unreserved tickets as well as provision of other railway services,” Vaishnaw stated adding that the digitisation of railway services and databases ongoing.
The information technology applications of Indian railways cater to transportation services (passenger and freight), fixed infrastructure (project, operations and maintenance), rolling stock (manufacture, operations and maintenance) and resource management (finance, materials and human resources, according to the union minister.
The digital initiatives and on-ground services are seamlessly integrated through well-documented instructions and manuals.
Modernisation of small railway stations
Moreover, the Indian Railways is planning to modernise 1,000 small yet important stations under the new ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’. The plan is apart from the ambitious plan to revamp 200 big stations under a separate redevelopment programme.
The aim is to identify developing cities with potential and envisage railway stations as city centres that would link not just various parts of the city but also between different cities in the future. The plan is to map everything connected to it — bridges and different modes of transport, according to officials quoted by PTI.
The idea is to start modernising stations in a cost-effective manner. According to need, the divisional railway managers (DRMs) will take a call on modernisation works in a phased manner.
According to the scheme document, it aims at preparing master plans of railway stations and implementing those in phases to enhance facilities including and beyond the minimum essential amenities and aim for the creation of roof plazas and city centres at stations.
