Indian Railways plans to issue 2.5 Lakh tickets per minute by August 2025

The Indian Railways has been going through tremendous digital transformation resulting in phenomenal upgradation of customer services, said G V L Satya Kumar, Managing Director, Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), during an address on “Driving Digital Transformation in Indian Railways: The Role of Technology in Enhancing Efficiency, Safety, and Passenger Experience” at the 19th India Digital Summit today.

As an example, he pointed out, “The ticketing system has seen a substantial increase in capacity, from issuing 1000 tickets per minute to 25,000 tickets per minute today, with plans to reach 2.5 lakh tickets per minute by August 2025.”

The two-day summit is being organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and is supported by Digital India, Skill India and Make in India.

According to Satya Kumar, “The rail industry has moved towards highly sensorized systems for asset management, including ultrasonic floor detectors, track recording cars, and oscillation monitoring systems. These systems provide real-time data on track conditions, enabling efficient management of the rail network.”

“The Indian Railways' digital transformation began in 1986 with the introduction of computerized ticketing systems. Over the years, the system has undergone significant upgrades, including the meshing of data centers, web ticketing, and mobile ticketing,” he added.

While giving an overview of the Indian Railways, he mentioned that the “Indian Railways transports 22 million passengers daily and carries 4.2 billion tons of freight. It operates 10,000 passenger trains, 3.5 lakh coaches, and deploys 15,000 locomotives.

Satya Kumar ended the session by saying, “One of the greatest strengths of CRIS is that it does not rely on private software developers, instead using its own team of 950+ core engineers to develop and maintain the systems.”

IDS 2025, held from January 16-17, recognises digital excellence and outstanding marketing achievements annually across various business and technology sectors. This year's theme is Bharat's Digital Path—Empowering Future Innovators.