Indian Railways will begin shifting trains to an upgraded passenger reservation system from August, replacing the existing system that has been in use for around 40 years, the Ministry of Railways said on Thursday, 7 May.
The development comes as Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the transition plan at Rail Bhawan and directed officials to ensure that passengers do not face inconvenience while trains are shifted 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 at the review meeting.
The existing reservation system was started in 1986 and has seen several minor changes over the past four decades.
The ministry said the system has now been completely overhauled and its capacity has been significantly expanded using state-of-the-art technology.
The passenger reservation system has seen major changes over the years.
In 2002, Indian Railways introduced internet-based ticketing.
Online booking now accounts for nearly 88 per cent of the total ticketing demand in the country, reducing the need for passengers to visit ticket counters.
The RailOne mobile app, launched in July last year, has recorded more than 3.5 crore downloads across the country in less than a year.
The ministry said the app is gaining popularity because it brings railway-related information and complaint resolution services together on one platform.
The app also informs passengers whether a waitlisted ticket is likely to be confirmed.
According to the ministry, AI-based waitlist confirmation prediction was introduced earlier this year, improving the accuracy of prediction from 53 per cent earlier to 94 per cent now.
RailOne offers integrated services such as booking, cancellation and refunds for reserved, unreserved and platform tickets.
It also provides real-time updates on ticket waiting status, train schedules, live train running status, platform information and coach position.
Passengers can also access Rail Madad for assistance through the app.
During journeys, they can order food through the app for delivery directly to their seats.
According to the ministry, 9.29 lakh tickets are booked every day through the RailOne app across the country.
This includes 7.2 lakh unreserved tickets and 2.09 lakh reserved tickets.
The unreserved category also includes platform tickets.
The app has been downloaded 3.16 crore times from the Google Play Store and 33.17 lakh times on Apple devices.
The ministry also said Indian Railways provided a subsidy of ₹60,239 crore on passenger tickets in 2024-25.
This is equivalent to an average discount of 43 per cent for every railway passenger.
In practical terms, if the cost of providing a service is ₹100, passengers pay ₹57 as ticket price.
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