Rail ops getting automated

Indian Railways is rebuilding its passenger reservation system so more seat decisions happen automatically, not through a patchwork of legacy software and manual intervention. (pib.gov.in) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in July 2025 that the new Passenger Reservation System, being developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems, would be agile, scalable and ready by December 2025. (pib.gov.in) The ministry said the redesigned platform is built to handle ten times the current load, with capacity for more than 150,000 bookings a minute and 4 million enquiries a minute. (pib.gov.in 1) (pib.gov.in 2) That matters because the current reservation system was deployed in 2010 on Itanium servers and OpenVMS, and the ministry says it now needs a full hardware, software and security replacement. (pib.gov.in) The operational goal is not just faster booking. Railways says passengers should get earlier waitlist updates, which gives them more time to make alternate plans instead of learning their status close to departure. (pib.gov.in) One piece already in use is Vikalp, the Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme launched in 2016 to move waitlisted passengers to another train when berths are available. More than 43,000 passengers were accommodated under Vikalp in 2022-23, the ministry told Parliament. (pib.gov.in) Vikalp is automated, but it comes with tradeoffs. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation rules say a passenger can be shifted to an alternate train leaving 30 minutes to 72 hours from the original departure, and boarding or destination stations can change within a station cluster. (contents.irctc.co.in 1) (contents.irctc.co.in 2) Berth allocation is also increasingly rules-based. Railways says senior citizens, women aged 45 and above, and pregnant women are automatically allotted lower berths subject to availability, even if they do not explicitly choose one while booking. (pib.gov.in) The pressure on all of this rises sharply during rush periods. Railways said it operated a record 43,000-plus special train trips in 2025, including 12,417 summer specials, to absorb seasonal demand. (pib.gov.in 1) (pib.gov.in 2) It is also trying to add physical capacity, not just software capacity. The ministry said about 79,000 coaches are in use for train services, and Railways plans to manufacture 17,000 general and sleeper coaches to meet heavier demand for non-air-conditioned travel. (pib.gov.in) The reservation overhaul is the digital side of that same problem: too many passengers, too few berths, and too little time to reshuffle coaches and trains by hand. (pib.gov.in)